


Percy Jackson And The Quest To Save The City

by purplecake



Category: Arrow (TV 2012), Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Arrow AU, Blood, Eventual Percy Jackson/Annabeth Chase, F/M, Injury, M/M, Minor Character Death, No family relations between the gods, Past Bianca/Percy, Past and some present Percy/Nico, Torture, Violent moments
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-10-27
Updated: 2017-04-24
Packaged: 2018-04-28 11:51:27
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 11
Words: 30,572
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5089691
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/purplecake/pseuds/purplecake
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The multi-millionaire Po Jackson and his son Percy were lost. With a plan to fly over to Athens for the opening of Jackson’s new factory with the company of Percy's 'girlfriend' Bianca di Angelo, the plane crashes in the waters of Greece, somewhere far more excluded than anyone has ever been. Five years later, Percy Jackson finds a way off the island called Tartarus: a bunch of old fishermen, gone far too much south. But Percy was alone. Percy returns home with a new motive. He has to fix the mistakes that his father left behind as he built his life and the company that brought him his fame.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Of Arrivals, Reunions, And Awkward Dinners

**Author's Note:**

> I'm new and this is my first fic, so I'm really sorry if there are any mistakes or problems or things like that. I hope you enjoy this, I just fought of this and had to write it because it seemed like an okay idea at the time. Now it is here. 
> 
> Yep. Have fun! Enjoy!  
> Tell me what you think and how I'm doing, because I don't really know. Thank you. : )

The first thing Percy was aware of when he woke, were the crisp sheets that crumpled around him as he shifted noisily. The room was dark, even with his eyes closed and when he opened them, he saw the night sky shining with the lights of the city that he had called home five years ago. 

Atlantis. 

All of his family from the side of his father that he knew of, had lived in this city, but it had been Po Jackson, Percy’s father who had made the sacrifices to fix this place from the wreck it had been before. 

Atlantis was a majestic city, had been for a long time, but it had been Percy’s great-grand father that began the designs and the builds for the tall buildings that now stood in Atlantis; the very buildings that made the name Jackson one of the richest ones in America. 

It took Percy’s brain a little while to remember how he got to the hospital in the first place. His skin was rough, his dark hair wild like always, but cut, shorter. It had grown out during his time on the island, but the doctors must have cut it short again, close to how it was before he left. Percy could feel the scars, both physical and mental, weighing him down. 

He tried to tell himself that it was fine. He was home now, away from that hellish place. Yet he knew it was not true. Tartarus had sent him back here to Atlantis, with a mission. A mission he had to complete for his father, and for the whole city: a mission that the island had forged him into a weapon for, so he would be ready for what he had to do. 

Pushing the covers away, Percy shifted his legs off the bed, warm feet, cuts and burns that had been covering them now wrapped in thin bandage, slowly touching to the cold solid floor of the hospital room. When he was ready, after several deep breathes, Percy, using his hands, pulled himself up. For the first few seconds standing up, he wobbled. Only when the dizziness in his head faded, did Percy risk moving forward, standing at the wall sized window, face less than a few inches from the glass. He could see the sun burnt skin of his cheeks, red and bright. He chin was smooth. The long beard that had grown out at his time in Tartarus was gone. His eyes were tiered, as if all the nights that lacked sleep on the island were finally getting to him.  
Percy saw the door shift open in the reflection of the window glass, but he didn’t move, dark rimmed eyes on the lights bright in the city, night life displayed in the flashing buildings. 

“Percy?” His mother’s voice hadn’t changed one bit in five years, apart from the way it wavered when she said his name. Stiffly, Percy turned to her, giving her the loopy grin that he knew she loved. He hadn’t smiled like that for so long, that the turn up of his mouth felt very strange. 

With a cry of joy, Sally Jackson flew forward and wrapped her arms around her son, squeezing him tightly. Percy hesitated for a few seconds, before doing the same, face pressed into the material of his mother’s long leather coat at her shoulder. He had grown taller, but thinner, and had to lean down to hug his mother back. Sally sniffled, and pulled back, raising her hands to her son’s face and holding them there, smiling up at Percy with watery eyes, cheeks wet. She could see the sadness of his eyes, but also something else. It was something much bigger than his grief; something that she couldn’t exactly pin. “I missed you so much Percy.” The lights behind them in the city glowed. Percy placed his own hands, sun burnt and rough, over his mother’s, smiling again. 

“I missed you too.”

 

The house seemed bigger than Percy remembered it to be. When the car stopped at the wide entrance he remembered so well, his chest rose in a slight panic. His sister was inside, waiting. She had thought he was dead, she had mourned for him and his father, and now, here he was. It made him nervous to think about how she would react. 

His mother set her key in the door, and with a quick smile at him, just to make sure he was ready, she swung it open and went in, Percy following after her a deep breath later. 

The smell hit him first. It was the smell of home, of his mother’s blue pancakes and freshly cleaned wood. The interior of the entrance hall had changed. Where there used to be a fire place along the back far wall, was now a painted shelf, filled with family pictures, some of him and his father, others of them all together, and books he didn’t recognize. There were even a few pictures with him and his friends, one with Nico and Leo standing at Percy's side, Bianca standing behind them with Thalia, both making hilarious faces. Percy gave a smile at the photo, glimpsing it between all the others.

A small oak table stood in the centre of the hall, vase of flowers standing in the middle, another picture, framed in a golden border, stood among the plant's wide leaves. It was a picture from a summer camp when Percy was fifteen. His sister, Piper, was stood next to him, ten years old and adorable, grinning. Their mother and father, Sally and Po, stood behind them. Thalia, standing on Percy’s other side, was the one holding the camera. Nico and Leo’s faces were half in the picture coming in from the side, because they had leaned into the photo at the last second. Bianca could be seen behind them all, in the background, frozen mid-wave with a cheeky grin on her face. 

The thought of Bianca and his father made Percy’s mood drop, but he didn’t have time to sulk, as a shout rang out, followed by violent steps raining down the stairs. Percy looked to the stair case, just in time to see Piper rush towards him and throw her arms around his neck. Percy dropped his bags, and lifted Piper up, her feet swinging in the air for a few seconds before he lowered her onto the ground. 

Piper had grown a lot in the last five years. She was twenty now, older. She grinned happily at him, beginning to say something, but deciding against it and hugging him again. Percy felt her tears at his shoulder, soaking into his shirt. He didn’t mind. He was just glad to be back. 

“Percy Jackson.” A male voice sounded from behind him and Piper let him go, allowing Percy to turn, coming face to face with Paul Blofis. Percy knew the man briefly. He had worked for his father before the accident, and had been left in charge of the company when Po set out for the new opening of a building site in Athens. It seemed like he had stayed in charge. 

Percy tried to be polite, but it was hard when he didn’t even understand why a worker of the company was dragging himself around his home. Percy had no desire to deal with any businesses at the moment, or ever, for that matter. "Hello, Mr Blofis.” The suit only gave him a smile and waved a hand at him dismissively. His sand coloured hair fell out of place as he moved, and he swept his fingers through it to fix the stray hair.  
“Please, Percy. Just call me Paul.” Percy had the urge to snap at him, to say ‘it’s Mr Jackson to you’, just like his father would have, but instead he smiled, trying to make it as real as possible, and nodded. 

“Well, Paul, Mom, Piper. If you excuse me, I would like to unpack my things?” Percy saw the way that his mother and Paul were looking at each other. He didn’t need anyone to tell him that Sally Jackson had moved on from his father. For some reason, all he could think of was Po Jackson, and it made Percy feel guilty. Sally gave Percy a big grin, and nodded. 

“Yes of course honey. Piper, help your brother.” Piper gave him a grin as she pulled one of his bags over her shoulder and began to head up the stairs. Percy paused. 

“Mom, there’s a duffle bag, big and green. Could you have someone bring it to my room?” Sally only nodded again. 

“Of course, Percy, I’ll get someone to bring all of your things to you in one second. And I’ll make pancakes?”  
Percy hid his smile, turning and following Piper up the stairs. “Only if they’re blue.”  
He heard his mother laugh from the landing. “How could they not be?” Paul only stood confused next to Sally, staring after Percy as he disappeared around one of the turn points on the stairs. 

 

His room hadn’t been touched in five years, Percy could tell. There was dust settling on the surfaces and his sheets were a wreck, his bed as messy as he had left it in his excitement five years ago when he was leaving for Athens. Piper walked through the door behind him, and settled the bag she had carried at the wall next to the door, leaning back into the frame. “Neither me nor mom had the courage to go in here after they told us you and dad were, you know.” Percy knew. He turned and looked at his sister, giving her a smile, which quickly, she returned. 

“I don’t blame you.” He paused, and then laughed. “Besides, this room smells.” Piper giggled and hugged him again. For a few minutes, it was just that. Brother and sister, reunited; until a knock came at the door. Piper let go of her brother as Percy looked towards the doorway, seeing Paul there with his sand coloured hair and suit, holding Percy’s green duffle bag, the one he had asked for. For a second, Percy admired Paul’s strength; of course ignoring the fact the Paul’s face was strained and red with effort. The duffle bag was damn heavy. 

“Here you go Percy. This is the last of your things.” Paul gave him a smile as Percy took the bag. He could see the relief on his face. “You don’t have many things with you, do you?” He gave a small laugh at what he possibly thought was a joke, which turned into an awkward chuckle at the look Percy was giving him. He really wasn’t in the mood.

“I was in a plane accident in the middle of the ocean, struggling to survive among a storm. I didn’t exactly have the time to grab all my things.” Paul nodded, and apologized slowly. Percy just stared at him, eyes dangerously dark. Piper observed her brother, then Paul, and clapped her hands to bring attention to herself. Percy didn’t take his eyes of Paul. 

“Well, we’ll leave you to unpack then. See you in a bit Percy.” With that said Piper grabbed Paul by the arm and pulled him along with her, out of the room and down the stairs. 

Percy shut the door after them and locked it. The green duffle bag was huge and heavy, but Percy handled it well. He heaved it onto the bed, and then stared at it blankly for a few minutes. He remembered his father’s last words, hurried and quick, panicked among the wreck of the sinking plane. “You must fix my mistakes Percy. I don’t want to leave that city to suffer what I had done.” 

Steadying his hand, Percy leant over and unzipped the bag. With one last look back at the door, listening in and making sure no one would interrupt; Percy dug his hand inside. One after the other, Percy settled the two swords on his bed. They were majestic blades, long but light, made of dark metal. Some parts of the metal were dirty and blunt, but when Percy pressed his finger to the tip of one of the swords, it drew a stream of blood. The grips were sturdy and leather, tight and slightly worn from his use, gone slightly soft from the years he had been using them. 

Next, out of the bag, Percy pulled the sheaths, used for the swords. He felt the straps that would go over his shoulders and cross the swords over his back. Percy found it easier and quicker to pull them out that way, a lot more graceful then if they were at his hip. The leather the sheaths were made from was also worn, but thick. The darkest of black colours that the sheaths had once been had now turned to a lighter one, because of the years they had spent on Percy’s back in the boiling sun of the island. 

There was much more in the bag, mostly computers and some clothes. Percy didn’t bother to pull them out. He slipped his hand into the bag momentarily and felt the soft material of his bandana. He would use it later. For now, Percy had to find a place where he could start; a place where he could set up and work from without being obvious or spotted easily. He would have to look around the city.

Slowly, he placed the swords inside the bag along with the sheaths and zipped it back closed. Pushing up the sheets and getting down on his knees, Percy pushed the bag under the bed and then dropped the bed covers back down, keeping the duffle from view. 

Voices rang out below as Percy slipped down the stairs. When he made it into the hallway, they stopped rapidly. Percy gulped loudly. Thalia and Leo stood at the door with Sally, both frozen and staring at their old friend in shock as he smiled awkwardly back at them. Leo was the first to react.

Percy remembered his loopy grin and the way his dark curly hair bobbed as he ran. Leo tackled Percy, both laughing as they hugged. Thalia still stood motionless at the coffee table. Her eyes had found the picture among the flowers. Tears were wetting her cheeks. Thalia was crying, and it was an action Percy had seen her do only once in the years he had known her. His laugh coming to a stop, he patted Leo on the back and pulled away from him. Steadily, Percy walked forward. 

Thalia looked up just as his hand settled onto her shoulder, the leather material of her jacket warm and worn underneath his fingers as he rested his hand there. Her electric blue eyes swam with tears. 

“Hello Thalia.”

The laugh that escaped her throat was watery and full of emotion. It was a laugh caught between a scoff and a chuckle, but before he could think about it more, Thalia had her arms around him, hugging him tightly. Percy was tall enough to rest his chin on the top of her head. Leo laughed behind them, and seconds later came bounding up, bear-hugging the both of them. Percy smiled at his friends. He was really, really glad to be back.

Leo and Thalia stayed for dinner. Piper had hugged and chatted with the both of them when they arrived, which made Percy realise that his ‘death’ had probably bought them a lot closer. He couldn’t help but smile and think that this misfortune gave at least a little bit of something good. 

There was a lot Percy had to catch up on. TV had changed a lot, and there was a new president of America, and Atlantis was now the most crime infested city. Percy made note of everything. The last he already knew and he was planning to change it.  
Leo chewed the food in his mouth and swallowed, before turning to Percy with a wild smile on his face. Thalia sat at his side, too smiling as she spoke quietly with Piper. “So Perce, what do you want to do?” 

Percy stared down at the table, setting down the knife and fork gently at the edges of his plate. All eyes were on him, conversations stopped. The room was silent. “What do you mean? Do you have anything in mind?” Leo smiled at him again, his curly hair bouncing as he nodded enthusiastically. Thalia rolled her eyes. 

“Yeah, for sure! You missed a lot of good new nightclub openings. I think we should go. I can show you around the town with Thalia, show you what has changed since you’ve been gone.” Percy had to admit it was a good idea. It was a chance for him to look around at the town, get familiar with the terrain again, and look for a good place for him to hide out in while he completed his mission. He nodded, grinning as he picked up the fork and speared a piece of blue pancake through the metal. 

“Yeah, actually, that will be amazing.” His mother was smiling, but there was something behind her expression as she ate across the table from him, something close to regret. “But I do want to see Nico first.” 

At his statement, Leo dropped his head into his hands, and Thalia groaned. Piper only shook her head. Paul and his mother exchanged worried looks, but didn’t speak. “Percy, why, out of everyone you could go to, you want to see the one person that wishes you were actually dead?”  
Percy bit into another piece of his blue pancake. “I owe him a lot. But the one thing I can do, is apologise.” Cutlery clattered as Piper finished her food. 

“Yeah, well no offence bro, but you cheated on him with his sister and then took her to Athens with you. I don’t think apologising will make anything better.” Percy knew that. What he did was definitely inexcusable, but he had to start somewhere. He had to do something for Nico. 

“I know. But I have to say something to him. I got his sister killed. I need to at least apologise.” Leo turned to Thalia, who shrugged and met his confused look with one of equal misunderstanding. The room fell into silence again, and Percy sighed deeply. 

“Alright. We’ll eat and then we can go. I’ll just give Nico a call.” Thalia excused herself and pushed out the chair, her feet sounding on the marble floor as she walked from the room, phone in hand. “He would kill us if we showed up uninvited, especially with you.” Piper collected her plate as she got up from the table and took Thalia’s with her. 

“Well, that was the most interesting dinner we’ve had in a while. Bring your plates.” She paused at the door and glanced at Percy. “Come on brother. You haven’t done your chores for 5 years. You have a lot of washing up to catch up on.” Percy grinned at Piper and followed her out, patting Leo on the shoulder as he left for the kitchen.


	2. The News Report, The Unwanted Reunion And The Failed Appology

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay. Here is chapter two. I have been getting some good feedback, so thank you! If there are any mistakes or stuff I need to improve, please let me know. Enjoy!

Nico wasn’t in the mood for this today. His father was out of his mind, angry and fuming, more than usual, and the alcohol he added to every cup of coffee wasn’t helping. Hades wasn’t the best cop in Atlantis for nothing. Being the Chief of Police, he knew how to be scary and controlling, and that was normally what got information out of the witnesses. His father’s frowning face was enough to terrify anyone. 

A new case had been assigned, a murder at a nightclub, and even after all the comments Nico had heard from his father about how useless he was, or how much he wished that it was his sister who was still alive and not him, Hades had given the case over to Nico. 

Considering his father wasn’t that fond of him and Nico was the struggling, fresh out of university police detective, it was a big step for Hades. Nico assumed his father still had hope that Nico would turn out a talented investigator, just like Bianca had been. Nico hoped so too. 

He sat at his desk, shuffling the batch of newly completed paper work onto the side of his desk, away from the mess of scattered sheets. There is way more writing to do on a strand of hair for evidence than you could have imagined. With a quick sip of his tea (he liked it more than coffee), finishing it, Nico cracked his knuckles and ran a hand quickly through his long black hair. It used to be a lot shorter, but he decided on growing it out, trying something new. It was almost at his shoulders now.

His stone black eyes searched the office. Deputies and officers swerved around the desks and corners, talking or shouting across the room, sometimes even running and tripping in their hurry. The Atlantis Police Department had been busy for a long while now, under stress not only because of the constantly building crime rates, but also because the media had been really focused on them lately. One little mistake, and it would be all over the news. Hades had been grumpier by the day, drinking and shouting more at the rest of the department. Every person at the office was working their hardest. Nico was very surprised that no one had quit on them and left for a different city. With the crime in Atlantis, Nico didn’t really know what he was doing here either. He just couldn’t really bring himself to leave. 

The TV at the far end of the room was on, showing the news channel. Nico didn’t really pay attention. If it was anything important, he would be told by the others, and if not, then it wasn’t important. He picked up his pen, and continued to write.   
“The multi-millionaire’s son Percy Jackson is alive. The twenty-five year old Jackson was found on an island of the west of Greece. He was surprisingly alone, and told our workers that neither his father nor his girlfriend, the daughter of Atlantis’ Chief of Police Bianca di Angelo, made it to the island.” Nico dropped the pen. Ink splattered onto the smooth blank sheet, but Nico couldn’t register the fact that he had just ruined a report. Somewhere in the back of his head, he felt worry, knowing that his father would definitely have something to say about that. 

The news reporter continued to talk, and as Nico looked up to the TV screen, he saw the picture. It was painful, yes, but it made Nico angry more than anything. The reporters had used a picture of him and Percy, and only days before Percy left and cheated on him with Nico’s sister. Percy’s smiling face made his chest tighten with fury, and he pushed himself out of his chair, briefly hearing as it fell back and slammed into the ground. His feet made sharp sounds on the marble of the floor as he stormed forward. Heads turned his way, eyes staying on him as they watched Nico slam the power button on the TV screen. He hadn’t realised that the station had gone silent, until he heard the loud furious sounds of his deep breaths, and felt a soft hand on his shoulder. 

“Nico, I think you should go home.” It was Will Solace, another detective working at the desk next to Nico. They had done a couple of cases together, and managed to become friends. Right now, Nico was too angry to be crushing on his co-worker. Nico turned, shaking Will’s hand off his shoulder, and levelled his stone black eyes into Will’s blue ones. He said nothing. All he could see was the news report the day he found out, seeing his sisters picture on the TV screen next Percy and his father as the reporter spoke of the plane crash, announcing they were missing and most likely dead. 

With a huff, Nico walked away from the centre of the circle of staring officers, briefly aware of the dull ache in his shoulder from when he had collided with Will during his angry walk out of the station. His car door wouldn’t open, no matter how hard Nico pulled on the handle, and only seconds later, when he was moments from striking the metal with his fist in his fury, Nico remembered that he needed to unlock the car. 

Percy was alive and well, but his sister was still dead. Gone, leaving him alone in this god forsaken city with a father who didn’t love him, taking the man he loved with her. He didn’t know who to be angry at: Bianca for leaving with Percy in the first place, or at Percy for cheating on him with his sister. Sitting inside his car, still in the police parking lot, Nico placed his face into his hands, and began to cry. It was quiet, trails of tears on his cheeks, and he wiped them away as soon as they leaked from his eyes, but when he looked into the mirror above his head, he could see the red rims that had appeared at his eyes, and how flushed his pale face was. 

Nico wiped his face with the sleeve of his black jacket, just as his phone began to ring. He scrambled up and cleared his throat, pulling the cell free from his pocket. Thalia’s name flashed at him from the screen. Nico fought the urge to roll his eyes and scoff, but even he couldn’t deny the fact that a small smile was twisting his lips. After the incident with Percy and Bianca, Nico and Thalia, Leo and Piper too, had stayed close. Nico wasn’t alone and they still hung out at times when none of them were busy. 

Clearing his throat again, Nico swiped his finger over the phone screen and pulled the devise up to his ear. “Thalia,” He greeted her. Straight away, he winced. He could hear how horrible he sounded, and it wouldn’t take a lot for Thalia to realise he had been crying.

Thalia’s voice was quiet when she spoke, but she didn’t question his tone. “Hey Nico, how are you?”

Nico ran a hand over his face, rubbing at his eyes quickly. “Get on with it Thalia. What do you want?” The long sigh from the other end of the line told Nico that he was correct on his assumptions. 

“Alright, you got me. Nico, it’s Percy. He wants to see you; he said he had to talk to you.” Nico wanted to laugh. Just like a Jackson, always making demands when he doesn’t have the right to. Nico scoffed, ignoring the pricking in his eyes as he held back tears. 

“Well, lucky for him I have something to say to Percy Jackson too.” Thalia must have been surprised by his answer, because she stayed silent. “Meet me outside Blue Café in twenty minutes. We can talk then.” Nico made sure to put thick enthuses on ‘talk’. Thalia sighed again, and he could picture her rolling her eyes. 

“Ok, see you. Please, Nico, don’t be too harsh on him, he’s been through a lot.”

Nico only spoke back to her with a sharper tone. “He cheated on me and got my sister killed. I can be as harsh as I want.” Nico hung up, tossed the phone onto the seat next to him and started the engine. As he pulled out of the police station, his stomach twisted and turned. He was nervous, but he could feel anger bubbling up in his chest. Maybe he would speak some of his thoughts too.

Leo sat at the wheel with Percy in the shotgun seat. Thalia grumbled at them from the back, slumped in the centre with her eyes set on her phone. Every once in a while she looked up and out of the window, making some comment on the city in a monotone tour guide voice at which Percy laughed.

He observed the city through the wet glass. It had been raining only minutes before they left, but the clouds had moved on and cleared the sky, replaced by faint rays of the sun, peeking out over the disappearing fog. “He’ll meet us at Blue Café,” Thalia had told Percy as she walked into the kitchen where Percy and Piper were washing the dishes after dinner, flicking water and foam each other’s way. She hadn’t looked very happy at the news, and Percy was sure that Nico wasn’t happy to hear that Percy wanted to speak to him and he honestly couldn’t blame him. 

The mention of Blue Café made Percy a little excited. It was a small business in the centre of town, owned by a nice older woman called Hestia. She had run the shop ever since Percy could remember, and it was there that his mother got the recipe for the delicious blue dyed cookies that she makes. Po once told him that it was Hestia that introduced him and Sally. It had been Po’s favourite place to go when he was studying Marine Biology at University. It was also the place where Percy and Thalia became friends, and also where they met Leo, who had asked them to help play a prank on one of the customers. All their birthdays up until Piper’s tenth were hosted there, complete with a different cake every year and Hestia’s small hearth, spreading warmth from the corner of the bakery. The place was filled with memories, and it made Percy happy almost to tears to think that he was about to see the little Café again. 

They rounded a street corner, and Percy grinned. The Blue Café hadn’t changed in 5 years. The sign above the door was crooked and blue, just like the door, and the chairs and old leather plush couches stood as comfy as they always had. When they stepped out the car, Percy could already sense the smell of cakes, behind him Thalia and Leo were laughing at the look of pure wonder on their friend’s face. When he turned back to look at them, they waved him on, and Percy pushed open the door with his hand, holding it open for Thalia and Leo to step inside. The warmth and the sent were comforting. Percy stood there for a second, just taking it all in, before a shout of glee came from his left, and he saw Hestia hobbling towards him, happy and grinning as she pulled her arms around his tall frame. He smiled down at her, and hugged her back. 

“Oh, kid. You are so tall!” She attempted to pat down the wild strands of his hair, but was too short to reach his forehead. Percy laughed and hugged her again. She took the hug, then ducked away and walked to the counter, pulling up three cups of coffee. She handed Thalia and Leo the two, and left the last for Percy to pick up. Then, she nudged her head towards the corner of the shop to the table next to the hearth, burning and keeping the place warm like always. Nico sat slouched, head low, hands wrapped around his mug. Thalia and Leo urged him on with their eyes as they sat at one of the tables furthest away from the back where Nico was. Percy dragged his feet, on the way grabbing his own cup of coffee and stopped short at the table’s edge, just as Nico glanced at him. 

The first thing Percy could come to think was that Nico’s eyes were a lot darker, colder than he remembered. He could remember the light in them, the happiness when they had sat in this very Café for their first date, and the brightness of the dark colours, as ironic as that may sound, when they would joke around with the rest of their friends. Now, they were just dark and cold, like something had sucked out all the feeling from them. Percy’s chest tightened when he realised it was his fault. With a deep breath he got ready to speak, to apologise.

He never got there. He tried to, until Nico’s sharp voice broke in. “You wanted to talk, Jackson. Stop staring at me, stop readying yourself, just say whatever you want to say so I can leave.” Percy was slightly taken aback with the hate twisting his voice, but didn’t comment. He slid into the seat opposite Nico and swallowed one final breath.

“Nico, I’m sorry.” The boy in front of him scoffed. His finger traced the rim of the cup, his eyes staring at the dark liquid inside. Percy continued hurriedly. “And I know that is a horrible way to start, and after what I did, you deserve better, so much better.” Nico stayed silent.

“The thing is, I don’t have a reason as to why I cheated. I was just so confused over everything that was happening, and after the argument we had, I needed to clear my head, I guess.” Nico’s finger paused at the rim of the mug. 

“You slept with my sister because you needed to clear your head?” Percy would have felt terrified of how low Nico’s voice had gone if not for the things he had seen. He was pretty sure that he was about to be punched, but it didn’t matter. He deserved it. 

“No, no. I’m saying that there isn’t a good enough reason to explain what I did. I messed up, and Nico, Bianca is dead because of me. She was there, hoping I would save her, and I didn’t. I was too late. I’m sorry.” He felt it, cold, sharp and sudden across the left side of his face. Nico pulled back his fist as quickly as it had lashed out, but didn’t wait for Percy to lift his head before he had a hold of his jacket, Nico’s face close to Percy’s. His cold eyes glared at Percy dangerously. 

“You know what? You don’t get to be sorry. I had to find out from the news that my sister had gone away with my boyfriend, and was possibly dead! I lost everything on that day, including my father, who drinks himself to unconsciousness every night after work. I had to drive about town looking for him for hours when I was fifteen, because he was black out drunk at some bar!” Nico let go of Percy’s jacket, and pushed out the seat, empty cup in hand. His long dark hair hung over his red cheeks as he sneered at Percy. “You should have stayed on that island, it would have been better for everyone.” Then he was off, dropping the mug off with a thank you to a very shocked Hestia. As he passed Leo and Thalia, the girl giving him an uncertain look, he shrugged his shoulders. “How did you think that was going to go Thalia?” Thalia nodded slowly as she watched Nico nudge open the door with his shoulder. 

“Kind of like that actually.” Percy pushed the cup of coffee away from him, dropping his head into his hands. That went worse that he had expected.


	3. Bad Parking Spots, Clowns With Weapons And Secrets Revealed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick warning. Chapter contains violence and brief drug use.

This time when they got into the car, Percy slipped into the back seat, leaving Thalia with shot gun. He leaned against the door, eyes looking over the large building across from Blue Café. He recognised it slightly, mostly because of the sea green trident logo of his father’s company at one of the tall walls. 

It was obviously abandoned. The building was surrounded by a tall chain link fence, but the barbed wire that used to be there was rusty and frail, half falling off. There was a ton of waste on the other side; disposed black bags ripped and spilling rotting rubbish onto the cemented ground, scratched and marked by permanent tire tracks. The factory itself looked slightly worse, but Percy knew the insides of them well. He had helped his father a few times with assessing the structure and stability when he had first bought it. He remembered well the basement that was underneath it. As Leo and Thalia slid into the car, Percy agreed that he would come by here again soon. It would be the perfect place. 

His friends were arguing silently in the front of the car. They glared at each other and mouthed words quickly, annoyed and sometimes confused. Percy was too tired to try and figure out what they were arguing about. Thalia sat back with a sigh and turned away from Leo to stare out the window as he started the engine. Percy could see the uncomfortable looks on his friends’ faces. 

“I messed up badly.” Percy’s voice seemed too loud in the silence of the car. His eyes followed the building as they passed it and turned to the front when they turned a corner and the factory disappeared behind other skyscrapers. 

Leo snorted in laughter, but covered it up quickly with a cough. Percy could see Thalia roll her eyes at him though the reflection in the rear view mirror. Her tone wasn't surprised but tired. “Yeah kelp for brains, you sure did mess up, terrifically.” Leo turned another corner, swerving past a bus.

“Percy, you did something very ugly before you left. Did you really think that saying sorry and giving Nico a horrible explanation was going to be good enough? It is going to take a lot more time and effort.” Percy nodded, leaning back into the car seat, laying his head back and turning so he could see the dirty city out of the window. “I know. I just wanted to apologise to him. Take a step in the right direction.” 

Leo eyed him in the mirror. “You’ll get there.” 

There was a minute of silence before Thalia sighed and clapped her hands. “Okay! Let’s go to get some dessert or something!” Then she shifted in her seat, facing Leo, beginning a discussion on food choices. Percy continued to stare out of the window at his father’s city. The city he was supposed to save.

A parking spot was difficult to find. It was getting dark and the city was starting to buzz with life. Cars passed and traffic was beginning, so when they pulled up to the ice cream store around the block, every place along the road was taken. Leo took one look at the amount of cars and shook his head, dark curls bouncing, and he grasped the gear shift and pulling it into reverse. They found a spot a few meters away in a small alley. There was a ‘Do not park’ sign at one of the walls but Leo ignored it even when Thalia pointed it out, and jumped out already heading for the alley entrance for some ice cream. Thalia followed, waiting for Percy as he stumbled out, giving him a smile before they made their way to the exit. 

They didn’t make it there. Leo was already falling, Thalia giving a yell of surprise when Percy felt the jab at his neck. He reached up, gently pulling free a small dart. Before he could let out a curse, he legs were giving out, his mouth no longer able to form words, everything blurring together. He tilted to the side, his body turning last second, hitting the ground shoulder first rather than with his face before everything went dark around him. 

 

“Mr Jackson! Hello, Mr Jackson!” A loud voice, clouded and thick, spoke over the haze of drugs. He could feel the drowsiness slowly fading, and when he looked around, the landscape swam before him, spinning. There was a strong, uncomfortable heating in his side which drastically changed to a radiating pain. Percy yelled out, eyes opening quickly. The taser was removed by a tall figure in a clown mask, but Percy’s view of him was quickly blocked by another face, wearing a similar mask. This one was laughing, snapping his gloved fingers in front of Percy’s face. The dizziness faded more and more every second and with another deep breath, his whole body tingling painfully from the electricity, Percy blinked and looked around. 

Thalia and Leo were both still passed out lying at one of the walls of what seemed to be some abandoned house. There were two more clown masked people guarding the only door, which looked like a hallway entrance. The windows at the left were covered by thick wooden panels, and the room was dark around them, the only source of light being a dimmed lamp. The first masked person, a male by his voice, threw a strong punch at Percy’s face but Percy gritted his teeth and glared at the clown, green eyes dark and dangerous. He didn’t miss the rigid step the figure took away from him. They weren’t as brave as they acted. 

“We have a few questions for you Mr Jackson.” Percy felt the plastic around his wrists, tightly twisted to keep him trapped in the chair. He wanted to smile at how ridiculous these guys were. Slowly, without showing much movement, Percy began to work around the plastic. “We need to know about your father, Jackson. We need to know if he said anything to you on that plane.” Percy continued to work away at the plastic. He kept his eyes down, staring at his feet. 

“Yes, he told me many things. It’s called having a conversation.” His sarcasm wasn’t welcome. The clown with the taser pressed it into his side again. 

“Did he tell you anything important, Mr Jackson?” Percy hissed in pain through his teeth.

“He did tell me something.” He said it clearly, and his captors nodded approvingly. 

“Good, Mr Jackson. What did your father tell you then?” Percy looked over to Thalia and Leo, still knocked out and unconscious at the door. They didn’t need to see what was about to happen. 

“He told me I was going to kill you.” Percy said it in a low and quiet voice. It was so quiet that the clown leaned forward, bringing his face closer to hear Percy’s response. That was a big mistake. 

Percy yelled, torso still aching from the electric shock, and tensing his arms, he snapped the plastic at his wrists and lashed out, wrapping his hands around the legs of the chair, sliding it out from under him. In a clear, quick movement, he slammed it over the man’s head before anyone could react, wood splitting and splintering as it smashed into his jaw. He fell limp and lifeless to the ground. Percy dropped the broken chair and jumped over the body, just as the taller figure, taser on and prickling with electricity in his hand, raced towards him. Percy jabbed his fist at his wrist, making him drop the taser, and just before it hit the floor, he kicked it up with his foot, caught it and pressed it into the masked man’s neck in a few seconds. The man shook as the electricity sizzled through his body, and dropped to the ground with the taser still pressed to his neck. The two that had been guarding the door pulled free guns and trailed them on Percy. 

Unlike them, Percy didn’t hesitate. He fell forward, dodging the first bullet and diving for the lamp at the rotten wooden table. Percy yanked it forward, and as one of the clowns with the gun moved forward, he smashed the bulb into sharp bits of glass over his head. 

The last clown pressed his gun to Percy’s temple, finger over the trigger. Percy raised his leg in a quick motion and struck the guy sharply in the stomach with his knee. When he was leaned over, holding his stomach, Percy kicked at his bent form, knocking him over. The gun dropped from the man’s hands and skidded over the floor, across the room. Percy lunged across the room, swiping the gun from the floor. As the guy he had hit over the head with the lamp was trying to pick himself up from the floor, blood flowing down his forehead, hair littered with crusts of glass, Percy levelled the gun and squeezed the trigger. The man dropped dead. 

The last man was too close to shoot. He had collected himself up from the kick to the stomach and was coming towards Percy quickly. Percy hit him over the eyes with the butt of the gun twice, knocking him back a few steps. Tossing the gun to the side, Percy stepped up and slipped the man into a head lock, pushing at his neck. 

When the man spoke, his voice was chocked and gruff. “You don’t have to do this.” Percy almost felt sorry for him, but shook his head. 

“Yes I do. No one can know my secret.” With a quick jerk of his arms, the man stilled and Percy let him go, the body dropping heavily to the floor. 

Percy lent down to pick up the gun and taser, and as he lifted himself, he heard a noise. With a sharp turn, he pointed the gun in the direction of the sound. It dipped as he stared in surprising at the person before him. 

Thalia had gained her consciousness as he was fighting the men. She stood now, leaning against the door way. Her eyes were tired from the drug, but wide in surprise, glazed over with tears and confusion. Percy started to walk towards her, gun and taser tight in his grip but arms raised over his head in a surrender motion. He paused when she shrunk back, away from him. “Thalia,” he began, but Thalia was staring at the dead men. 

“What the hell?” She still wouldn’t look at him, only staring over the destruction he had caused. 

Percy felt his heart sink as she stared on in disgust at the bodies. “How much did you see?” His voice was small, quiet. Thalia shook her head, as if trying to clear the disturbing images from her mind. Percy’s arms stayed up and still raised in surrender. 

“I saw enough to know that you had to do more than survive on that island.” Percy stared silent, still as Thalia finally limped forward, struggling along the room towards him. She stopped a few feet away and glanced briefly at Leo, who was still passed out cold. “Are you going to kill me now, kelp brain?” Percy shook his head immediately. Now, his arms dropped to his side in defeat. It made him sick to even think that any of his friends could have gotten hurt. 

“No, of course I won’t Thalia. There’s a reason for what I did-” He didn’t get to finish. Leo groaned and began to stir, mumbling something as he moved around on the ground. Thalia gave Percy a side glance, but Percy couldn’t decipher what it meant. “We’ll talk about this later.” Then she knelt next to Leo and helped him sit up as he blinked around the room. 

 

“Do you remember anything?” The detective, Will Solace, sat at the couch opposite to Thalia, Leo and Percy, staring at them patiently as Nico sat at his side, avoiding eye contact. Sally was standing at one of the windows in the living room, looking out over the wide gardens. 

Percy nodded. “We were on our way for ice cream. We parked in an alley, because there weren’t enough spaces on the streets. That was when someone shot some kind of weapon at us, a way to transfer the drug, because the next second we were passing out.” Will wrote down what he said, and then turned to the other two for conformation, who nodded in agreement. “They wanted to know about my father and the company, thought I would know secrets and be able to give them money. When I refused, they electrocuted me and knocked me out.” Will gave another nod. Nico only sighed and stared around the house, obviously uncomfortable. 

“We found you with four dead bodies. How did that happen?” Percy heard Thalia give a shuddering breath, and sighed. 

“It was this figure. They were dressed in dark clothing and a bandana, covering their eyes down to their nose. I couldn’t see much, but I’m sure they had some sort of weapon.” Nico snorted in laughter. Will gave him a look and Nico tried to stop, but a small smile stayed on his face. 

Will turned to Leo and Thalia. “Can any of you confirm that?” 

Percy kept his eyes down. He knew Leo shook his head, but when Will turned to Thalia, his heart almost stopped. She could tell them what he did, what she saw-

“There was someone there. I’m not sure what gender, because the drug was still making my senses cloudy, but there was someone. That ‘someone’ killed those men and saved our lives.” Nico gave a suspicious glance at the three of them. His partner continued to write down what they said, nodding along, but Nico didn’t seem convinced. 

“You expect us to believe that a masked vigilante saved you? We have no evidence except two witnesses who were drugged. The chief of police will never take this.” Will looked annoyed, but Percy was sure it was only because Nico was right. 

“Listen, you don’t have to believe us, we only told you what we saw.” Will was in the middle of thanking them when Percy said this, and Nico stood up abruptly, an angry scowl on his face.

He jabbed a finger at Percy as he stood. “No, you listen-” Will coughed abruptly and mouthed a quick apology to Sally as she stared at the commotion with a sad twist in her eyes. Will caught Nico’s shoulders and held him back. “Well. We should get going and get these witness reports to the station.” He shook hands with Sally, and then thanked them again, before making his way to Nico, who was frowning strongly at Percy. 

“Detective Di Angelo,” Will nodded towards the door, and Nico glared at him with his stone cold eyes before strolling away, Will rolling his eyes as he followed Nico out of the house. Leo stood too, and addressed Sally. 

“Well, I should head back.” Percy didn’t really think that Leo driving home after being drugged was a good idea. He looked up at his friend and shook his head.

“How about you stay here for tonight? After what happened, it would be better, I think.” Leo looked uncertain, but Sally was quick to agree, smiling warmly.

“Of course Leo, after the day you’ve had, I don’t want you driving. Come on, I’ll give you a room.” When Leo and his mother were gone, it left only Thalia and Percy alone in the silence and awkwardness. 

“You told me there was a reason for what you did.” Thalia didn’t move from her position on the couch, her voice almost a whisper. Percy glanced at her, but she was staring at the coffee table in front of the couch. 

“I wouldn’t have done that without reason.”

“What’s the reason then? Why did you do that?” This time she stared right into his eyes with her electric ones.

“I’ll tell you,” Percy stepped up and offered Thalia his hand. “But not here.”

 

To say that Thalia was extremely confused was an understatement. When Percy had taken a large and, by the looks of things very heavy, duffle bag from his room and placed it into the back of the car, Thalia asked why. She only got a short answer of “You’ll know soon,” before Percy was starting the engine and riding out into the city, the evening sun hidden by the clouds.

She soon found herself parked outside Blue Café. It was closed by now. The clock on the dashboard of the car read 7:30 and Hestia locked up and went home and hour earlier than that. Percy knew that. As he pulled the key out of the ignition and the engine fell silent, Percy coughed awkwardly. “Are you okay, Thalia?” Thalia wanted to laugh. This was definitely the weirdest day she has had in a long time.

“I don’t know Percy. In the past two hours I have been drugged and saw you, my best friend, kill four men. What the hell do you think?” The hurt expression on Percy’s face almost made her feel guilty at the use of her harsh tone, but she pushed it away to the back of her mind. 

“I know. I’m sorry, but it will make more sense in a second when I explain.” Then he was out the car and getting the duffle. When Thalia got out, Percy locked the car and crossed the street towards an abandoned building. Only then, giving it a close look, did Thalia realise that it was Percy’s father’s old factory. You could barely miss the green trident, yet here it was dirty and the paint almost scratched completely away. 

“Come on Pinecone face. We don’t have all day.” At Percy’s shout she gave him a fixed glare, but crossed over the street and joined her friend at the chain linked fence surrounded the building. “We’re gonna have to get inside. I’ll go first, okay?” Thalia felt like she had no other choice but to nod. Percy gave her a smile, but she didn’t return it. 

Percy pulled the duffle bag straps over his shoulder, and by the size and the weight of the bag, Thalia had no idea how he did it, but Percy, with the bag over his back, climbed onto one of the dumpsters near the fence, braced his arms over the metal, and swung himself over the top of the chain link. He landed on the messy concrete on the other side on his toes, light and soundless, then stood back and faced Thalia with the chain between them. “Just give me a second. Go around to the entrance and I’ll open it for you.” Thalia didn’t move at first, only lifting one eyebrow at Percy. He shrugged his shoulders in question, and exclaimed his protests a second later when Thalia mimicked what he had done, climbing atop the dumpster. 

Thalia landed even lighter on her toes than Percy had, because there was no duffle bag weighing her down, and when she levelled her electric eyes at Percy, he had his mouth wide open. “Are we going to just stand here?” Percy shook off his shock and trudged on towards the factory.

It took them a while to cut through the chain that blocked the doors, but Percy pulled huge pliers out of the duffle bag on his bag and with three strong cuts, the chain fell away and the door creaked open. Seriously, this guy was prepared for anything.

The inside was as messed up as the outside. Pillars of metal scaffolding were falling and the windows were smashed in places. Cracks spider webbed along the old glass, but otherwise the windows seemed the most untouched of all things in the factory. Metal panels and bricks and loose concrete were scattered all over the floor, but Percy didn’t seem bothered about the state of the factory. With a quick look at Thalia, he pulled up a thick metal trap door to the far left. Underneath was a set of stairs, leading down. Percy sunk into the darkness as he walked down the stairs and Thalia’s curiosity forced to follow.

It was a basement. A wide open space, with only a few ceiling lights to brighten it up. Finally, Percy dropped his duffle bag in the centre of the floor, and turned fully to Thalia, who was staring around the basement in confusion. 

“I’ve been telling everyone; the press, the police and you guys that my father died when the plane went down, along with Bianca. I lied. All three of us survived, made it onto a rescue boat with one of the workers that were with us. My father died there.”

Thalia didn’t really know what to say to that. Bianca and Po Jackson hadn’t died from the plane crash, so what killed them? “Percy, what happened when you were gone? What happened after that plane accident?”

Horrible things happened, but it was time he told someone the truth.


	4. Of Flash Backs, Body Guards And The Abandoned Building

5 years ago.

Bianca held the cards up to her face, staring over the edges at Percy suspiciously, who only grinned and spread his own cards over the surface of the table, beginning to laugh when Bianca tossed hers down with an annoyed huff. She staring angrily at the two kings, a queen and an ace that Percy had revealed. “Oh come on! Again? You have to have rigged it somehow?”

Percy pulled his hands up in surrender and made a big show of standing up and taking off his hoodie, so Bianca could see there was nothing hidden in his jacket. She only continued to glare at him as he completed another victory dance in his seat.   
“I guess I’m just that good.” Percy collected up the cards and started to shuffle them around, readying for another game. Bianca scoffed. 

“Yeah right, I don’t believe that. It was pure luck.” The plane shuddered in flight, and Bianca’s smile dropped immediately, guilt and fear creeping onto her face. She stared out of the small plane window into the dark waters of the sea as they passed over through the clouds. Rain was falling, and she could see black clouds in the distance crackling with lightning. 

“Hey, it’s okay. It’s just some turbulence.” Bianca didn’t really feel reassured, but she nodded and turned back just as Percy was handing out the next round of cards. 

The door at the end of the isle of seats swished open, and Po Jackson stepped inside, throwing a small smile at Bianca and his son. He took a seat next to Percy and rubbed his hands together excitedly. “A little bit of poker I see.” He gave Percy a grin, rubbing his dark beard and waved his hands. “Alright son, hand them out. We’ll see who holds the rank of Best Poker Player.” For the next few hours, Bianca Po and Percy sat playing cards. Po gave them a few tips, but only after he made the promise they would never use them for real games. Bianca could feel the fear pressuring her every time the plane made a sudden move, and as much as she tried, she couldn’t stop thinking about Nico and how betrayed he would be when he found out she had gone off to Athens with his boyfriend. It was absolutely horrible! How could she have done this to her own brother?

Bianca felt sick. She dropped her cards face down and excused herself, barely able to stop herself from running to the bathroom. When she got in, she locked the door, and let the water run into the sink. Filling her hands with it, she splashed the cold liquid over her face. The plane jerked again, and Bianca grabbed onto the sink tight. Seconds passed, and the jerking didn’t stop. A shout came from outside, followed by Percy’s voice. And then they were falling. 

She didn’t know how she knew, but she felt herself become light, and her feet were barley touching the ground. There was a banging on the door of the bathroom, and Percy’s panicked voice shouted through it. Bianca unlocked it without letting go of the sink and when the door fell open, she saw Percy holding onto the side wall as tight as possible. There was a giant hole in the side of the plane, and through it, Bianca could see the sea and the sky, rushing by quickly as the plane fell. Po was rushing up to meet them, Percy reaching a hand forward to grab Bianca. 

It happened too fast. 

The wall behind her broke out and air hit her back, throwing her out, and as quickly pulling her back in. Percy screamed, but Bianca was gone, pushed out into the air. The plane continued to fall. Percy tried to get to the hole in the plane where Bianca had disappeared, but Po grabbed his son by the shoulders tightly and shouted over the rush of burning engines. “Percy we have to go if we want to live. Come on!” He had a small bag hanging over his shoulder, and a yellow package under his arm. Pulling Percy with him, Po slammed his hand down hard on a switch, and the doors swished open, choking them on the sudden rush of wind.

His father looked at Percy through tear clouded eyes. 

“I’m sorry. You have to jump, Percy.” Percy couldn’t understand why. Po pushed the bag off his shoulder and into Percy’s arms. “You have to save the city from the things my actions did to it. You must fix my mistakes Percy. I don’t want to leave that city to suffer what I had done.” Po handed him the package and wrapped his arms tight around his son. When he pulled back, there were tears on his cheeks.

“Dad…” Po pushed Percy back and out of the plane, leaving him to free fall towards the sea, throwing itself violently in waves. He could still see the blurry silhouette of his father, with something pressed against his head. He couldn’t hear the bang, not over the thunder and water sloshing around him, but he saw he fathers violent fall, and his lifeless body sailing into the ocean. 

Percy closed his eyes as he hit the water, looking for the string, his fingers shakily pulling at it when he found it. The package extended, and Percy found himself holding onto the side of a bright yellow boat, bobbing up and down on the rocking waves. 

With the last of hid energy, his weak arms and shaking fingers, Percy pulled himself into the boat. As Percy hit the inflatable bottom, his eyes closed and shock and exhaustion took him into darkness, the image of Bianca and his father falling, dead, still fresh on his eye lids. 

.............................................

Frank knocked at the wide wooden doors of the Jackson residence firmly with his fist, then stood back with his arms behind his back, waiting patiently. It was cold, and Frank would really be in trouble when Hazel found out that he had gone out without at least a hat. The door swung open, revealing an older woman Frank knew only from TV. “Morning Mrs Jackson. My name is Frank Zhang. You are expecting me?” She gave him a nod, but her eyes were suspicious, trying to pin an assumption on him. Frank knew that look. He pulled at his tie, fixing it into place, and tried his best to smile. Mrs Jackson invited him inside with a wave of the hand and a quick, “Come in Mr Zhang.” 

The house was grander than Frank had expected. The entrance hallway itself was bigger than Frank’s own living room, and when Mrs Jackson led him through to the office, he had to fight to not show his unbelieving shock. Mrs Jackson took a seat at her polished desk, leaning back in the leather seat, and pointed to the plush chair opposite with a smile. When he had sat, she leveled her eyes at him. 

“Now, Mr Zhang, I have no doubt that you have heard the events my son and his friends went through last night?” Hazel had told him earlier to night about the kidnapping and torture Mr Jackson went through, and the mysterious figure in a bandanna that had saved them. Frank nodded, resting his large hands in his lap. 

“I called the agency, and they had recommended your skills.” She paused, giving him a curious look, and smiled. “I would like you to guard my son. Where ever he goes, you go. Make sure he comes to no more harm.”

Frank had no choice but to say yes. He gave up the choice when he became a body guard. With a forced smile, Frank gave a nod. “Of course Mrs Jackson. Your son will be safe.” 

 

Percy pulled the multiple computers from his giant duffle bag, setting them down on one of the metal tables. Thalia hovered around the stairs, staring at him with confused eyes. 

“Do you know what he meant? “I don’t want the city to suffer for what I did?” Do you have any idea what he wanted you to do?” Percy plugged the last computer into one of the free sockets, and wiped his hands over his trousers. 

“The bag he gave me was full of documents,” He pulled the same papers from his bag, handing them to Thalia, who with a suspicious look took the folder and began to flick through it. “Its names and profiles, people who have taken some negative action against Atlantis. My father felt guilty, he blamed himself for what those people did.” He pulled the dark bandanna from the duffle bag, rubbing his fingers around the two large holes in it. “He wanted me to make it right, to get rid of all those who had any bad plans for Atlantis.” Thalia looked up, gasped as she saw the dark mask in Percy’s long fingers. 

“That’s the mask. The one you described to Nico and Will.” Percy nodded, but didn’t lift his eyes from the mask.   
His voice was low and quiet when he spoke again. “Yes. I needed a start. A way to introduce me, allow me to work in the dead of night. Telling the cops that there was a vigilante in town was a good way to start.” 

Thalia sighed, slapping the folder shut and walking towards Percy, looking at the dark mask over his arm. “I’m in.” 

This time, Percy pulled his green eyes up to stare into Thalia’s bright blue ones. “You’re what?” 

Thalia took a step back as Percy turned to face her, mask hanging from his fingers, forgotten. “You heard me. I’m in. This is serious, and you can’t possibly deal with it all on your own, no matter what fight club you joined on that island.”

Percy’s eyes widened and he was ready to argue, but a low jingle from his pocket interrupted him mid word. His gave Thalia a look, to which she just smiled, and pulled his phone up to his ear. 

“Mum,” He greeted, eyes fixed on Thalia who continued to make faces at him. “We just went out for a few drinks. After what happened, we just needed to loosen up, forget.” The lies slipped from his lips so easily. His green eyes flicked with a certain emotion Thalia couldn’t recognise on her friend. “Yep. We’re on our way back now.” 

When he hung up, phone back into his pocket, he jabbed a finger at Thalia. “We’ll talk about this later. For now, you keep silent about this place.” He grabbed the duffle bag, slipped the mask back inside and zipped it up. “Let’s go.” 

Thalia didn’t argue as Percy bound back up the shaking metal steps, just followed behind him, watching as he locked the door up and turned out the flickering lights. 

 

There was a big man in the living room when Percy and Thalia walked in, not moving or showing expression, just standing there in his black suit and white shirt, body tense. He was muscled and buff, but his face was young and smooth, which made him just slightly less intimidating. Percy raised an eyebrow at him, then turned to look at his mother, who was sat at the couch. 

She got up and stood by the strange man, smiling at her son. 

Percy and Thalia shared a confused gaze. “Mum, what is going on? Where’s Piper?” 

Sally kept smiling. “Piper’s out. She had a shift at work to cover.” With a quick hand gesture, she pointed to the suit. “This is Frank Zhang. He will be your body guard.” 

Percy wanted to laugh. He didn’t need a body guard, but his mother didn’t know that. With a small nod, Percy moved from Thalia’s side and stood before Frank Zhang. 

“Well, it’s a pleasure to meet you Mr Zhang.” 

“Please Mr Jackson. Just call me Frank.”

“As long as you call me Percy.” The body guard nodded, and Percy laughed. 

They shook hands, Frank finally smiling as well. “I’m looking forward to working with you, Frank.” Frank said nothing.


	5. Body Guards, First Missions and Party Drama

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Percy and Thalia pay a visit to a Atlantis businessman that has something for the city and hanging out at the club is not always the best way to spend your day off.

Frank Zhang was a good bodyguard, and normally Thalia would be praising him for it; the guy was huge and fast, but it made getting away from him so much harder. Percy had succeeded the first time they rode in the car together by slipping out while they drove, but the second time, Frank was ready, joing them both in the back of the car, watching them with a smug smile when he thought they weren't looking. 

That was exactly Frank's weakness. He got to comfortable after a few days of peace, and Percy and Thalia used that to their advantage. With a stop at the gas station, when Frank returned to the car having paid for the fuel Thalia, Percy and the green duffel bag that had sat with them along the floor were gone. Frank cursed, shooting up and hitting his head over the edge of the car as he did so, cursing some more. 

Percy and Thalia were getting better at getting into the old factory. They managed to find a more comfortable way than jumping over the spiked fence, a small gate that Percy snipped open. 

It took a lot longer for them to sort out everything inside. Percy introduced Thalia to the computer systems he brought back from the island, making sure she had the basics down on how to use them. 

"Why would I need to know this?" Thalia gave him a low look, and Percy gulped. 

"Well, I need someone to operate from here." Thalia raised an eyebrow. "You're that someone." She answered him with a short scoff. 

"I am not sitting around while you beat up the bad guys!" Percy dropped the long sword along the table and slowly turned around to face Thalia, who had stood up from one of the chairs in her fury. "I mean how exactly were you planning to do this when you were alone, Percy?" Anger made Thalia's blue eyes crackle like lightning. After everything he's seen, he was still terrified and chilled to the bone when Thalia stepped towards him in her anger. 

"Thalia, I can't put you in that much danger-"

"And why not! You think I'm not good enough for your wierd masked fight club!" They would have been laughing if not for the tension filling the room and hanging between them. 

"I just don't think you realise how serious this is. This is not a game, but a mission my father handed to me to complete. I can't fail."   
Thalia didn't answer, only ran up swiftly and struck him in the side of the jaw with a small sharp hit, hard enough to snap his head to the side. When he looked back to her, she had taken up a defensive stance, fists up, waiting. Percy clicked his jaw, rubbing the pain away with his fingers, and took his own stance opposite her, with a smile which Thalia didn't return. 

"I'll show you how serious I can take this." 

She gave no warning in words, but Percy saw it in her movements. He was slightly embarrassed that he hadn't seen the strike coming at his face before, but now, as Thalia shifted her feet and shot up a knee to his stomach, he blocked it in time with his hands, quickly bringing a large fist up to slam it at Thalia's face. She caught his hand and twisted it back, knocking him in the chest with a quick jab. Percy slipped his fist from her grasp and jumped off his legs, bringing a foot up and aiming for Thalia's face again. When she blocked it with her arm, pushing his leg away from her, he dropped low into a crouched, shot out a leg, and knocked Thalia's legs from under her. She crashed to the floor with a huff, but with a swift push of her hands, she was jumping back up again, jarring a well placed kick to Percy's face as she did so.

They fought like that for a few more minutes, Thalia sometimes going down again but quickly getting back up. Percy was impressed with the skill in Thalia's shots, the balanced between power and technique. He could see room for improvements: how Thalia was stronger in her fists and elbows then in her knees and feet, but her focus was amazing, and she managed to knock him to the ground once before he grabbed her arms with a smile, stopping her. He expected Thalia to drop from tiredness, he could feel it himself, making him drowsy. After fifteen minutes of non-stop fighting, he could feel the surprise when Thalia stayed standing, blazing eyes fixed on him. 

"You proved your point." He could see the smile tugging at Thalia's lips, and how she fought it down, "and I will let you join me, but on two conditions." She still didn't let the smile through, only raised an eyebrow. 

Percy held up a finger and pointed at his black bandana, laid out over one of the metal tables. "We get you a way to conceal your identity." This time Thalia nodded. The smile was breaking through.

"Second," Percy glanced at her with an impressed grin, "You tell me where the hell you learnt to fight like that."

A pause of silence passed between them. 

"Deal. But only if you tell me the same thing about you."

 

One week later. 

 

"Roan Plutus." Percy placed the folder down onto the metal table between him and Thalia, flipping it open, allowing her to read the information inside. 

"On Po's list, and also on the news. What a coincidence." Thalia lent over, dipping her head as she read silently to herself. 

Percy grinned. "Ironically, he's named after the Greek god of money. Plutus literally means wealth." Thalia snorted as she read. When she was done, a frown welcomed her face. She looked up at Percy. 

"We need to take the money he owns Atlantis, back?" Her friend nodded, but the expression in his eyes made Thalia think she wasn't exactly going to like this. "How?"

"I have my methods. Get changed, we don't need you to expose yourself and get arrested." Thalia dropped the folder onto the table and slipped away to grab her stuff.

Thalia's way of hiding her identity was simple. A huge hoodie, with a low hood that covered most of her face with a deep shadow. She wore leather gloves, like Percy's but fingers covered, and dark trousers. All black to blend with the darkness. Percy had told her it was temporary until they could find something more fitting for her. She pulled up the hood and zipped up the jacket, before Percy walked out. 

It was the first time Thalia had seen him in his disguise. The bandana fitted comfortably around his head, keeping his eyes darkened by shadow but allowed him to see easily through the gaps in the material. It was wrapped around his forehead, wild hair, black and messy as always exposed and free, and stopped just at the tip of his nose. His swords, the long silver blades that he had showed Thalia a few days ago, were strapped across his back in an x, over the long sleeve shirt of black stretchy material. His high black boots padded over the floor of the factory as he strolled over to Thalia and pulled at the hood of her jacket playfully. Then, he pulled a shorter sword in a sheath on a long strap towards her. She stared at it for a second, before taking it out of the sheath and staring at the sharp metal as it glinted in the light. 

"Just in case. What ever you choose to keep you safe, this is for now." She thanked him with a smile, which he could barely see because of the hood, and strapped the sword to her back. 

With a nod, she said, "Shall we?" 

Percy laughed and nodded, heading up to the stairs of the factory basement. "We shall." 

Thalia couldn't hold her excitement, letting out a happy yell. Percy shushed her quickly, but she could see the smile he was fighting. 

 

They barely struggled to get to Plutus. He was on his way out of his office, flanked by guards, when Percy and Thalia dropped onto the hood of the long black vehicle. The guards began shooting immediately, guns out and firing, but with a quick swing of his sword, Percy knocked one of the guards out with the but of his weapon, approaching Plutus as Thalia dealt with the other. 

"Roan Plutus," Percy voice was deeper than normal, thanks to the voice modifier he brought back from the island, a growl echoing through the dark parking lot. Thalia knocked out the guard, then stood watching behind him with wide eyes as Percy lifted his sword and rested the blade at the man's throat. "I will give you a chance to help fix this city. You will transfer the 10,000 dollars that you have in your bank account to the Atlantis bank by eleven in the afternoon tomorrow, or I will take it myself." Percy paused, pressing the blade further into Plutus's neck, drawing a drop of blood, "and you won't like how I'll take it."

Swinging his arm in an arc, Percy slammed a fist into the businessman's jaw, dropping him to the ground, then motioned to Thalia to run.   
Thalia turned to Percy as they ran, jumping down and over whatever made it in their way. 

"You think he's going to stick to the deal?" Percy sighed, pushing his sword back into it's sheath. 

"Of course not." 

 

Annabeth Chase was at work, pressing aimlessly at her keyboard when Piper slid into her office and crashed down on the chair across from her desk. Annabeth stared at her friend as she leant forward and gazed at Annabeth with an innocent look plastered on her face. Annabeth rolled her eyes. 

"What, Piper?" 

"Come for drinks with us?" Annabeth turned her eyes back to the laptop screen in front of her. The time in the corner read 8:20pm. Her day ended in ten minutes anyway. Her boss wouldn't mind. 

"That depends who 'us' is." Piper sat back in the chair, lazily resting her head back and huffing.

"My brother, me, Thalia and Leo, and hopefully, you." 

Annabeth and Piper had met through the company. Annabeth worked at Jackson's company, and Piper had been around a lot after her brother and father got lost at sea, accompanying her mother and step-father to the office. They had been friends for almost two years now, yet Annabeth had never met any of Piper's friends. Besides, she was tired of staring blankly at her computer. 

"Sure, let's go." 

 

The club was one Annabeth had never been to before. It was the opening day, so it was packed to the brim with people, music blaring. Piper grabbed at her arm suddenly, shouted something over the noise that Annabeth couldn't hear, and then pulled her to the left, bringing them towards one of the many bars.   
A group of people, drinks in hand shouted happily at Piper and raised their drinks to her. Annabeth watched them, yet she only recognized one of them, because his face had been on the news non-stop for the past week. Piper hugged her brother and then the rest of her friends before she pulled Annabeth closer. 

"Guys, this is Annabeth Chase. She works at our company as a tech expert." Each of the people present gave her either a cheer or a wave, which Annabeth returned with a small smile. 

Piper pointed to her brother. "That's Percy, which you know cause of the news, but you know." The tall dark haired Jackson gave her a wide smile. A girl with blue eyes and the darkest hair sat at his side, and when Piper introduced her as Thalia, she too grinned and waved. 

The last person sat at the table was a small curly haired boy with pointed ears and a devilish smile. "That's Leo. Watch out though, he loves pranks."   
Drinks were ordered, and Annabeth sat next to Thalia as she and Percy pointed out people in the dance floor, joking and laughing together. She lent forward towards the two. 

"So, how long have you guys been together?" 

Both Percy and Thalia froze. Percy's eyes widened, and he and Thalia stared at each other for a few seconds before laughter broke out their shocked expressions, and they held each other, crackling uncontrolably. 

Leo and Piper walked over, and through the flashing lights, Annabeth could see Piper roll her eyes at the two laughing. She turned to Annabeth.  
"Did you ask them if they were together?"

Annabeth nodded hesitantly. Piper began to laugh, but coughed to cover it up, then lent over towards her brother and delivered a hard punch to his arm. 

Percy recoiled, slowing his laughter, wiping the tears dropping from his eyes. "Right sorry." 

Piper explained when she saw Annabeth's confused expression. "Percy and Thalia are practically brother and sister. They find it extremely hilarious when people think they're dating. We still don't really know why it's so funny to them."

Something behind them caught Percy's attention. The laughs from his face sunk away, and he shrugged off Thalia's hand from his shoulder as he slid off his chair. Piper watched him leave and walk towards the dark haired, pale skinned detective standing in the crowd with Will. 

"That's Percy's ex-boyfriend, Nico. Excuse my brother for his rudeness." Piper watched Nico's face drop when he noticed Percy pushing through the crowd towards him. "They've just not been on the best of terms with each other since Percy's return."

"Percy's gay?" Piper shook her head, taking a sip of her drink. 

"Bi." 

 

"Percy, seriously, I don't need this right now." Nico rolled his eyes as Percy stopped in front of him, towering over him. Will shifted uncomfortably at his side. What a day off this turned out to be. 

"I'm sorry Nico. I just need to talk to you."

"We're talking."

Percy sighed, eyeing Will briefly. "Privately."

Nico wanted to just punch Percy in his perfect face sometimes. He turned to Will with a pleading look. "Just wait here. I won't be long."   
Then they went up the metal stairs of the club, leaning forward against the rails of the balcony as they looked over the people dancing below. 

"You wanted to talk, so talk."

Percy dropped his hands to the rail, drumming his fingers along the metal. "I've already said I'm sorry for what happened to Bianca." Nico tried not to show his sorrow at the mention of his sister, trying to push away the tears building in his eyes. "But everyone around me that I love just ends up getting hurt." Percy swerved, facing Nico, green eyes staring into black. 

"I need you to stay away from me, Nico."

A scoff built it's way up his throat, but Nico held it back, instead glaring at Percy. He wanted to respond, but footsteps ran towards them, and then Thalia appeared at the top of the stairs. She looked directly at Percy. 

"Sorry to interupt, but Percy, we have to go."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I will be changing the names of the mini and main villains from Arrow to fit the Percy Jackson universe, or at least I will do my best.   
> :)


	6. The Coward, The Fight, The Enemy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is brief graphic description of injury in this one. Just so you're aware.

5 YEARS AGO.

Percy went in and out of consciousness for what seemed like days. Each time he woke his mouth and throat were drier and his skin burned from the pounding sun. The only thing he saw repeatedly was the swaying ocean; the waves that made him throw up into the clear blue. This time it was different. Percy blinked a few times to make sure what he was seeing wasn’t just an image made by his tiered eyes, but the blurred picture of the island stayed at the horizon. 

Percy closed his eyes. 

He saw Bianca, the fear in her eyes as she fell back and out of the plane. He saw his father, the sorrow in his eyes. “You must fix my mistakes Percy.” He saw his body fall a disappear into the violence of the water. 

When he opened his eyes, through the blotch of tears, the island was still there. Using his sun burnt hands, Percy dipped them into the ocean and began to push at the water, towards the island. It was his only chance now. 

 

Bullets clicked into place at the guns handle, and Cas grinned as he positioned it back on the door to the lift, hearing the cables move, pulling and straining as the lift climbed up. His men were scattered around the room, dropped behind the marble pillars or leaning on their knees by the far steps. 

"On guard, gentlemen. I'll check on the boss." Cas received a grunt of approval and a cheery shout from around, grinned once more with a quick glance at the count down above the lift door and slipped through the glass at the end of the corridor. Inside, a few more suits spread themselves out around the room, pressed against the walls with their guns settled at their chest. One of them acted out at the sound of the swish of the door, firing a bullet at Cas who managed to drop quickly when the safety clicked off. 

"Nice reflexes Boris. Keep it up." Boris gave him a swift salute, eyes slowly dropping the panic they held seconds ago as relief flooded. 

Cas turned to Roan Plutus. 

Shaking in his seat, the boss was. Cas would have laughed at the man if he wasn't being paid millions to keep this coward alive. Instead, he slipped into his profesional mask, the one he knew terrified everyone, and approached the twitching buisness man. "All my men are ready. Robin Hood ain't coming through here." Plutus looked up from his hands, sweat at his brow, eyes finding the scar, white and geaming along Cas' face. 

He didn't say much more than a weak, "good."

Cas turned and sat comfortable along the steps with his gun along his lap, running his fingers over the black polished metal. Its been a long time since he'd seen the hooded bastard. Thinking of the moment being so close, Cas couldn't help himself. 

He laughed. 

 

Percy shot up, turning and vomiting over the side of the boat onto solid ground. Rays of sunlight burned at his raw skin, bringing tears to his eyes.

He was on land. 

He didn't quite believe it until Percy pushed upwards and rolled off the pontoon, hitting the dirt with a low thud. It hurt, rattling his bones and bruising his skin, but Percy almost laughed in relief at the feel of steady earth under him. He didn't enjoy the moment much longer. His conciousness gave out, and Percy fell into the darkness. 

The next time he woke up, the first thing that he noticed and registered was the smell, wafting over the beach. Using his sunburn, weak arms, Percy pulled himself up to the boats edge, then slipped onto his knees to look over the sand. 

Metal blinked back at him, cases and broken pieces of what used to be a plane. He saw his father's face on one of the fading pieces, half wiped away by the sun. 

There were bodies, too. Only three out of the seven that had been in the air. 

When Percy managed to crawl over to the first one, the pilot, his stomach had been stabbed straight through by a sharpened chunk of steel. His torso was barely attached to his hips, spilling guts and blood over once golden sand. His eyes were open in death, staring up into the cloudless sky. Percy kicked his feet as he skittered away to throw up into the sand once again.

The second was worse, barely recognizable from what the wreckage had done to his head. Percy knew it was the pilots assistant by the one green converse that still covered his foot. 

The third, Percy knew who it was before he got even a two meters close. The plaid shirt and ripped jeans, and the silver watch on his left wrist. Percy dropped to his knees at his father's side, dribble slipping over his chin as he buried his face into his father's worn and wet jacket. 

It took him hours to find something to dig with. Then even longer to get enough energy and will to drag the bodies and roll them into the graves he'd dug. 

His father came last, wrapped in parts of the boat. Percy pulled his shirt over his mouth to hid from the smell, but when the body lay in the ditch Percy turned and vomited anyway. 

Then, he collapsed and let the darkness take him once more. 

But it never came.

What he heard instead was a deep shout, and then a sharp pain exploded in his chest, then another in his shoulder. A face appeared over him as he lay back, hands reaching over his torso, looking to stop the pain. A tanned face and blonde hair was the last thing he saw before the strike of agony sent him over the edge, into the darkness he'd aready welcomed. 

 

Thalia and Percy cleared the first mass of guards quickly. They'd tried to shoot at them, but Percy's percise shot of his throwing knife had them unfocused, leaving an oppertunity for Thalia to strike. 

They'd made a deal, even if Percy was reluctant, to not kill. 

The first gun man tried to shoot at her, but Thalia knocked the gun from his hand and dropped him to the ground with two punches to the face. Another ran at her from behind a marble pillar, but her sword was out and swinging before he could land a hit. His shoulder exploded in a rain of blood, and the guard fell with a hand at his arm, yelling as he tried to stop the bleeding. She hadn't heard the safety click off behind her, but by the time she turned to strike down another guard, Percy's knife had sunk deep through his hand, and a hard kick to the head from Percy's boot had him falling, out cold, to the floor. 

The problems arrived when they smashed through the glass doors. 

Bullets whizzed at them, attempting to drive them back into the hall way. Percy pushed Thalia to the side, behind a fallen cabinet, and rolled forward, tackling one of the men at the legs. He fell with a grunt, and Percy slipped free his sword to get a cut at his chest before the guy could shoot again. Thalia looked at him, eyes covered by shadow, but all Percy did was nod at Roan Plutus and where he was cowering behind his computer. 

Huffing, a weight knocked into Percy, sending him flying off the wounded man and onto the ground next to him. The guard on top of him knocked away his arms as he tried to get a hit in, and slammed a knee into his stomach when Percy tried to reach for a knife. The movements were too familiar, too similar to his own. Percy blinked away the dots building over his eyes as the guard slammed his head into the ground, and stared past the darkness in the room. 

The cut along his face that Percy had left as a reminder had healed into a white, thick mark over his face. The hair that used to be so long and blonde on the island was now cropped and shortened. Blue eyes were angry, yet the smirk on his face made Percy frown. 

"Luke?" 

The click of a gun and the weight against his stomach made Percy shiver. 

"I go by Cas now. Nice to see you again, Jackson." The gun pressed further into the material at his stomach. Percy growled at the smirk on Luke's face, and just as Luke tightened his fingers on the trigger, Percy kicked out, knocking Luke in the chest. 

When he struggled for breath, Percy used the opportunity to hit him again, just to make sure. 

Thalia watched him from the window. Shouting from the lift, sounding a lot like Nico, nudged Percy into action. He ran towards Thalia, jumping over the knocked over furniture. 

"You did it?" Electric eyes found his from under the hood. 

Thalia nodded. 

"Lets get the hell out of here then." He grabbed her, moved back a little and began to run up to the wall sized windows. From behind, Luke roared in anger, blood at his mouth as his fingers clasped the gun, squeezing the trigger. Percy and Thalia crashed through the glass, jumping down, falling through the air just as Nico barged through the door with Will at his side, guns in hand. 

They were met with a crying Roan Plutus, but no other conscious persons. Luke Castellan was gone, and so were the vigilantes. 

No one noticed the small chip slipped into the hard casing of the computer screen.


	7. Bullets Hurt, Island Banter And A Surprise Visit

Only two hours after they'd returned to the party did Thalia notice the grimace of pain taking over Percy's grin every once in a while as he talked with Annabeth. Another hour, and he began to slouch, spending most of his time sitting, forcing himself to dance stiffly when asked, but by the hiss of agony he hid behind his trembling hand, it was only to keep up appearances. By the fourth hour, most people already gone as it neared three am, Thalia saw clearly the sweat building at his brow, neck and face strained. 

Nico had been at the club as soon as they'd returned, a suspicious glare at Percy when asking about the attack on the building just next to the bar. Percy had stood tall then, answered without hesitation that he knew nothing, and gave a charming grin.

Now, he looked as if he could barely stand, to Thalia anyway. She knew him too well, spent too much time reading him, knowing when he was in pain, physically or mentally. Excusing herself from the guy failing at asking her to dance, Thalia pushed through the remaining few people to Percy. Leo had left a while ago, saying he was going to lay down before he regretted his choices. Annabeth promised to see Piper safely home as Percy's sister danced circles around them both, singing terribly to a one direction song that wasn't even playing in the club. 

Fitting his arm around her shoulders, Thalia pulled Percy up from the stool. He wasn't drunk, Percy didn't drink enough to do so, but his legs shook and wobbled, and everyone else was fooled. 

As soon as Percy shut the car door, Thalia snapped her head round to glare at him icily. 

"Show me."

Maybe he was too tiered, or just too hurt, because he skipped the usual remark and pulled back the hem of his black suit jacket, where near his hip, a dark splodge of blood was spreading slowly across his shirt. 

Thalia felt dizzy, staring at it as anger grew inside her, till she had to fight off the urge to hit Percy hard in the face. 

"Percy! What the hell! When did you-"

Percy hit the dashboard with a closed hand, hard, making her jump. "Thalia! I will answer your questions later, for now get me to the bloody factory!" 

With her fingers already turning the key, Thalia paused. "The Factory? I hope to hell you mean the hospital!"

"Sure Thalia, if you want to deal with questions on how the hell Percy Jackson, the refugee all over the news and son of a dead billionaire was shot, be my guest. I'd like to keep my secret identity a little longer!"

A pointed glare had her pressing on the accelerator with a grumble, but her eyes kept finding their way back to Percy, hands shaking and blood still pouring. 

 

Percy was barely on his feet when they got back to the factory. Thalia had to brace herself on the stairs as he toppled forward on weak legs, before he righted himself and fell onto one of the chairs. 

With a trembling finger, he pointed to a row of metal cabinets at the back of the factory basement. "First cabinet, tweezers, second, blood bag and IV line. Hurry, I've lost too much blood already. If I go into shock then-"

Jerking the cabinet draw open, Thalia pulled everything he'd asked for. The blood made her pause. "Who's blood is this?" She asked, plugging in the IV line into the bag, then into the vein at the crook of Percy's elbow that he'd pointed to. He'd opened his shirt to get to the wound, and Thalia stared for seconds at the thick scars that were littered there.

"Mine, stored it here for moments exactly like this." He reached over and grabbed the tweezers, slipping momentarily in his hand from the blood sticking there. "Fresh bandages and a bottle of antiseptic in that cabinet there." 

"And you didn't think I might need that sort of fail safe?" Thalia dug through the cabinet, pull out two roles of bandages and fresh gauze, along with the bottle of bitter smelling liquid before making her way back to where Percy was hissing through his teeth, jaw clenched as he dug around in the wound for the bullet.

"Jesus, Percy! Warn a girl, alright?" 

His eyes found hers in an apologetic gaze. "You and I have the same blood type. In any case where you got hurt, my blood would work just as well to keep you alive. Unless you want to spend endless weeks tiered and weak as you drain drops of blood from yourself, then be my guest." 

The bullet dinged as it hit the concrete ground, sticking with blood. Percy let the tweezers fall as well, reaching shakily for the antiseptic, which Thalia handed to him with a soft tap to his shoulder and worried eyes.

"Your blood it is then." Percy laughed tightly at that, cut off by a sudden hiss of pain as he poured the liquid over the bullet wound at his side. Thalia moved quickly with the thick gauze, pressing it to his side, covering the wound, then wrapped it tightly with a roll of bandage.

With a relief in his breath, the tension in Percy's shoulders and Thalia's dropped. 

"You should rest."

"I should, yes." It was a surprise. At first, Thalia thought he was being sarcastic, but her eyes widened when he actually pulled himself out of the chair and moved to the rough mattress they had in the basement, settling in between the uneven springs. He closed his eyes, but Thalia knew this was as far as he'd go to rest. 

"Check the chip. Transfer the money." This made Thalia smile. Roan Plutus, thought he was safe to keep his stolen money, only for it to be taken back right from his nose.

In the morning, when he returned to his office after a forced visit to the police station, Roan Plutus almost lost the rest of his thin strands of hair when his account came back empty.

Thalia grinned as they crossed a red line over Plutus' file. Percy patted her on the back, smiling tightly, before sitting tensely over the springy mattress. Thalia watched him for a second. The scars along his chest that she'd seen before were covered now with a cotton t-shirt he'd pulled on with her help, but they bothered her. 

"What happened to you on that island Percy?" It was quiet and soft, her voice, but Percy had always had excellent hearing. 

He sighed softly, rubbing at his eyes as his mind dropped back five years, to the place that was hell. "A lot. None of them good."

"I don't believe that."

Percy looked up at her then, frowning deeply. "What?"

Thalia smiled at him, waving her hands around as she explained. "You must have encountered something there, something that you were happy about, with." 

She watched him, as he hummed, as he closed his eyes, as a smile tugged at his frowning mouth.

"There were moments. Between the horror. They didn't last long, but they were there."

Thalia settled down next to him, resting her head over his shoulder, hugging his arm. Percy laughed at her softly, but sat back and closed his eyes in a sense of peace. "Tell me about them."

 

5 Years Ago

 

He came out of darkness with metal above and below him. Blinking a few times, he realised he was lying in the wreck of an old plane, wings ripped away, letting orange tinted light to reach his eyes. When he tried to move, pain pushed him back down, spiking him in the side and at his shoulder. 

"Stay down, buddy. I shot you pretty good." The voice was cheery, deep and male. A slap sounded, bouncing over the metal walls. "Ow!"

"Shut up, Luke. You shot him, at least apologise!" A different voice, female, responded.

"I thought he was one of the guards! Common mistake!" 

Percy's head pounded with his pulse. "Would you shut up!"

His comment only caused more talking. 

"Oooh, look at this one, has a mouth on him."

"He told you to shut up Luke, not eat shit."

"It's more than you did when we met." 

"I punched you in the face."

"Yeah, but you didn't say anything, did you?"

"Oh God, Luke."

"Oh God, Clarisse!"

A cough had them turn to him. Blonde hair appeared above him, blue eyes staring at him wide and surprisingly happy. "Here, buddy. Let me help you up."

"It's the least you can do after you shot him. Twice." 

"I fixed him up didn't I?"

"No, I fixed him up. You panicked."

Sitting up against one of the metal walls, Percy could see both of the talkers clearly. One was man, still leaning over him, securing him along the wall to make sure he wasn't hurting himself. His mop of blonde hair was so bright it felt blinding, and a stubble of beard grew over his cheeks and jaw. The second was a woman, brown hair messy and pushed back by a dirty red bandanna. Around her wrist was another bandanna, or at least a piece of cloth, as far as Percy knew, this one plain and black. Her eyes watched him curiously, calculating him. Her arms were huge, her old army jacket sleeves ripped at the shoulders leaving her muscled arms exposed.   
The man smiled at him. It kind of scared Percy, how happy he seemed. 

"I'm Luke, Castellan. That grumpy chick over there is Clarisse La Rue."

He flinched as a small stone hit him hard in the back, but laughed almost immediately after.

"I'm not grumpy, asshole." 

Luke only turned back to Percy, eyes saying something along the lines of 'see?'

 

Thalia and Percy made their way back to the Jackson residence at around eight in the morning, coming up with an excuse as to why they never came home. In the end, when Sally Jackson slapped at her son's arm and yelled for answers, they decided to just say they passed out at the club, hoping Sally hadn't called to check. 

Leo came around for breakfast smiling, shoveling blue pancakes and bacon onto his plate in heaps. Piper could barely open her eyes, trying to squint around the table before she decided it was too much and focused only on her plate full of eggs and toast. Percy and Thalia made a show of interpreting all of Piper's dance moves from the night before, including the terrible singing until through her own laughter ("Mom!") Sally told them to cut it out.

Paul was there too, smiling along. Percy tried his best to accept his presence, or at least ignore it, but his eyes kept finding the grinning businessman, and the hand he had gently placed over his mother's. Thalia patted him and turned his focus to Leo's crappy jokes, which they all found too hilarious.

A knock at the door interrupted Leo's impression of a drunk Piper, who had her face in her hands as she watched through her fingers. It was strong, and harsh, continuing until Sally rolled her eyes and ran forward, swinging the door open. 

Hades Di Angelo stood on the other side, four other officers standing at his elbow. He stormed in with determined steps, right up to the dinner table, in front of Percy. Percy stood up, tucking the chair away, and stared back at him just as hard as he was staring at him. 

"What is the meaning of this?" Hades laughed bitterly at Percy's question.

"Oh I think you know." He pulled hand cuffs from his belt. "Percy Jackson, you are under arrest for multiple homicides and the robbery of Roan Plutus." 

Thalia stared panicked into his eyes as Percy turned, and the hand cuffs trapped his wrists.

"This is ridiculous, Hades." 

Hades wasn't having it. "Shut up, son. Everything you say can and will be used against you in a Court of Law."

"I didn't do anything. I'm innocent." 

"We'll see." With that, an officer grabbed an arm each and led Percy from the house, Thalia and everyone else staring after them in shock. 

Well shit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I made Clarisse the one of the island. I was going to make it Reyna, but I want to use Reyna for a future character so, TADA!


	8. The General, The Court, and the Truth

Percy spent a good four weeks, as Luke had informed him, in the old plane wreck before Clarisse even allowed him to consider standing. Her only conversations with him were snappy and filled with so much sarcasm most of the time Percy had no idea if she was serious. When he questioned Luke about it, the blonde man only answered, "Don't worry, she hates everyone," which got him a slap to the back of the the head. 

When Luke had agreed to take him out of the plane after another week of sitting, no one argued, although Clarisse gave them both one of her dirty looks as she got her things together. 

Luke had told him about the island, briefly. Unknown co-oridantes, unknown territory. The only thing they knew about it was that the soldiers called it Tartarus. When he'd asked how they got there, Clarisse stormed off into the trees with a huff, and Luke shook his head with a sadness behind his eyes. With another apology, Luke finally managed to explain the paranoia and bullets he'd shot into Percy. 

"A team of men with guns, look like soldiers but I think they're more like hired henchmen to be honest. They have some business here, from the machinery and weapons and other shit they have here." Luke shifted behind the tree, gun cocked up as he looked round the bark to glimpse at the deer that clapped at the grass peacefully with its teeth. The blonde had offered the gun to him just before they went out, but Percy had shook his head quickly with wide eyes and stepped back so quickly he'd almost tripped over an over growing vine. Luke eyed him curiously, a bitter sympathy behind the ice blue. "You're going to have to pick it up eventually, you know? This island doesn't waste much time with the innocent." 

Clarisse got tired of their constant whispers then, reached out from behind a fallen log a few feet from them where she'd been hidden and pulled back the string of the bow Luke told him she'd made herself. There was an arrow in the deer's neck before it realised it'd been fired, and it went down with ungraceful squealing noises and blood sprouting from its neck. Percy bent down into the bushes and heaved up the meat he'd eaten that morning, the red of blood reminding him of his father's dead body, and of the pilot missing the lower half of his. Luke patted him on the back as he wiped his mouth. 

As he moved to help Clarisse carry the deer, he called back over his shoulder, "You'll get used to it, buddy." Percy really doubted it. 

They didn't get far with the deer. 

It lay over Luke and Clarisse's shoulders, practically covering them with how big it was. Good that was too, because when bullets started to fly, the carcass took most of the metal shards, giving both of them time to dive down behind fallen trees and covering rocks. Percy wasn't so lucky. He'd managed to jump down, but a soldier had seen him shift behind a wild bush, and called through the racket of bullets to his fellows. 

With arms trapped between two burly men, Percy yelled and pulled, but it did no use. They carried him away, and all Percy could hope for was that Luke and Clarisse were alive, and had escaped, that they weren't hurt. 

 

The commotion broke Nico from a dreamless, for once, sleep. He spluttered and shot up in his seat, only to see all the detectives and officers out of their seats, eagerly watching the precinct doors. Nico noticed Will coming his way. He took the coffee cup offered, and took a huge gulp, hoping to quickly wake up.

"What's going on?" Will took a quick glance at the door again.

"Your dad-" At the glare from Nico, Will lifted his hands in surrender, "Sorry, HADES, found footage from the nightclub last night of the vigilante," Nico's eyebrows shot high into his hair line in surprise. Will continued. "It makes for some compelling evidence, that Percy Jackson is Robin Hood." 

Nico didn't have time to express his shock. His father walked in then, proudly, eyes more awake and happier than they had been for years, flanked closely by two police officers. Percy Jackson walked between them, head high and eyes staring ahead, posture prouder than Nico had ever seen him. That island had done something, that was obvious, and Nico hated Percy for what he did, but he was sure that Percy wasn't a killer, that he was no vigilante. 

His jaw dropped as they passed him, to the interrogation room at the end of the presinct. Will patted him on the back, but Nico pushed past him with a quick smile and followed after his father, who was about to shut the door when Nico slipped by the wood and into the room.

"Dad, what the hell?"

Percy looked up at him, shock evident on his face, but Nico focused on his father, staring at the thrill in his black eyes. 

"He's a killer, and I have the proof." Percy shifted at that, coughing.

"What proof exactly?" Hades almost growled, but Nico didn't let the answer be heard. He pulled a hand up to shut Percy up before he said anything else. 

"Don't say anything until your lawyer gets here." With another glare that his father, Nico huffed. "Can we talk outside please, Captain?"

"He killed you're sister, and you want to protect him!"

"Percy's not a killer!"

The shouting was cut short. Will popped his head through the door, looking between then briefly. "The Lawyer's on her way, will be here in the next five minutes she said. In the mean time, Jackson's family and friends are in the main offices." Hades nodded, but from the red building up along his neck, his father was angry and annoyed still and the appearance of the Jackson Squad wasn't helping. He left through the door without another glance at Nico, but managed to turn and glare at Percy, who only matched his expression. 

Nico faced Percy himself, foot stopping the door from closing. 

"God dammit, Jackson."

Outside, Hades was already in a heated discussion with Sally Jackson, the dark curly hair woman was just as red faced as Hades, shouting strongly at him with Thalia and Leo either side looking just as mad, and a burly man in a dark suit and a confused young face standing at the very back, looking as if he was ready to jump at any second. 

Nico sauntered over and placed himself quickly between the two parties. It didn't stop either of them from the constant insults the threw at one another. 

"Excuse me!" 

The new voice stifled the verbal punches, as Hades looked to the side to see a small frizzy haired woman in a black suit and a white button up blouse, a bag settled over her left shoulder as she leaned slightly more on one leg with a hand on her hip. She observed them with wide eyes, but her lips seemed to bend in a soft smile. 

When all eyes were on her, she grinned. "I'm Hazel Levesque."

The suited man from the back stepped up, blinking. "Hazel?"

"Frank," she greeted him, reaching out a hand and squeezing his arm softly with a smile. Her eyes found Nico's, then Hades' and at last Sally's. "I'm the lawyer you hired for Mr Jackson."

Sally breathed a sigh of relief. "Great, so how about we go and discuss this somewhere-" Hazel interrupted before the sentence was over.

"I apologise Mrs Jackson, but I'm afraid there is not much we have to discuss. This sort of arrest calls for an immediate call to court. When Mr Jackson pleads innocent in court, we can then make our case against any further presented evidence." 

Nico almost moved to catch Sally in fear of her fainting, from how pale she'd gone. "But my son is innocent!" Hazel tried her best to be comforting. Frank watched her, knowing how good she was this. 

"Then we will fight for that." 

 

No one spoke to him until they crossed the borders into a camp of green tents and the smell of gas as trucks rolled by over the dead grass and sandy earth. Percy was lead to one of the larger tents, the flaps pulled back roughly. 

A man, wide shouldered and bearded, brown eyes skinning over the words on the crackling parchment in his strong fingers, a cigar blowing smoke from a burning end, lips tightened into a frown. His dark eyes snapped almost immediately up to the soldiers, Percy still pulling and pushing between them, yelling sly curses over hisses of pain as they irritated the tender flesh of the bullet wounds.

In his fighting, Percy didn't see the man kick up his feet and stand to a straight back and tight posture. He also didn't see his slim fingers place down the parchment and cigar, instead reaching down into a leather holster at his hip for the warm steal of his gun.

Not until the barrel of said gun was pressed against Percy's wet forehead, freezing him suddenly in the spot, fear twisting in place of the angered expression on his dirtied face. Green eyes, blazing with all sorts of emotion, found dark emotionless ones, and watched carefully as the man raised an eyebrow, then dropped it again and pulled the gun away with a nod. 

"Now that we have all that brainless resistance out of the way," his voice was deep, gurgling up this throat and ending as a hiss breaking through his teeth. His gaze remained locked on Percy's trembling one, but he spoke to the soldiers who had immediately let him go at the command. "You may leave us." 

With a striking salute, and a shout of "Yes, General," the soldiers were turned and marching out the tent door, leaving Percy with this General, empty eyes staring down at him. 

A second more of stares, and the General lazily wandered back to his desk, and slipped down into his previous position at the table, legs folded, cigar in his mouth, parchment in hand. When Percy didn't move after him, the General's eyes found his once again. 

"You wouldn't like them to come back, would you now, Mr Jackson." 

'I would,' Percy found himself thinking, but his fearful expression broke into pieces at the sound of his name, curiosity peaking through the cracks. He inched forward, and with rigid shoulders, he slumped down into the wooden chair on the other side of the desk. 

"How the hell do you know my name?" 

The General put out his cigar, placing it in the ash tray on the edge of the desk. A smile twisted onto his lips, making him look almost unnatural. 

"We know a lot of things, Mr Jackson. And it is not hard to spot the face of the son of a millionaire." Finger's grabbed at a shiny piece of paper, holding it up for Percy to fully see. Shock filled him, but Percy conformed his face to stay grounded in a look of confusion. "There are somethings that we don't know, such as the location of these people." Clarisse and Luke stood hid behind a high rock, heads peeking carefully over it into the forest around them. Clarisse's bow could be seen over her shoulder, Luke's gun in his hand, finger hovering over the trigger. "We believe you can help us with that." 

Percy stared at the picture for a split second, a thousand thoughts running through his head. Luke and Clarisse were obviously alive, which even if Percy didn't want to admit, took a loud off his shoulders, making him almost slumping with relief. He knew Luke and Clarisse, more than he knew these people. Trust was far off, but Luke and Clarisse had saved his life, even if they'd threatened it in the first place. He wouldn't just sell them out to these people without knowing what they'll do. And from the guns and tanks he'd seen out side, Percy could use his brain enough to tell they weren't here on friendly terms. 

With thoughts out of the way and decision made, Percy glared up at the rugged faced General. 

"I have never seen these people before in my life. I was ship wrecked here, and have been trying to stay away from trouble." When the General barely moved, Percy sucked in an awkward breath, then muttered, "which I am obviously failing badly at."

"Mr Jackson," the voice dropping into a hiss, low and dangerous, followed after the General lent forward, eyes cold boring into Percy's, making him shrink back into his seat. "I have no time for your lies. I am not patient, so let me ask you one more thing."

Fingers tapped at the hard wood. 

"Do you know who these people are? Hired assassins, guns for hands, trigger fingers. This island was made for criminals, sent here because no other country would take them. Are they really worth the loyalty you have for them?"

Percy stared ahead for a second, words swimming in his brain. Assassins. Killers. But Percy was surprised to feel that at the moment he didn't care, not as much as he should have. So when his eyes continued to stare confused at the General, and blank words repeat themselves from his mouth, the General only sighed and raised his voice to a strong shout. It held no words, just a shout, but the guards that had dragged him here before barreled back in, roughly grabbing him by the shoulders and shoving him against one of the wooden pillars that held up the tent, where they tied his hands over his head with a cutting slip of rope. A sneer was thrown his way as they stalked back out, spittle falling into his face. Percy struggled anyway, tossing against the wood at his back. The General watched him with a soft judgement in his eyes, slipping from the chair once again and this time pulling a long dagger from the back of his belt. 

"I'm afraid that you will not like the way that I will make you admit the truth."

 

The court room scene was one Percy remembered rather well. He'd spent a lot of time there before the island, whether it was drinking or trespassing, the judge stared down at him with the sentence of fine or angle tag, once community service.

Now, it was murder, which he did commit, with Hazel fighting for his freedom at his side, with no idea that everything they were saying about him was true. 

Percy knew when his mother made it to the court room by the worried footsteps before Hazel laughed and warned him of her. He stood from his chair, barely blinking before Piper fell into him, wrapping her arms around her brother. Over her shoulder, Thalia caught his eye, her own gaze worried and angry, building up for a conversation Percy was dreading. Piper smiled at him, patting him on the arm. 

"It's going to be okay, Pipes." 

His sister didn't seem worried, not on the outside, but Percy knew her, and the longer they stood there, the more he noticed the tears building there. He didn't mention it, instead placing a soft hand on her arm. 

"I know, I just wanted to make sure you knew that."

Sally Jackson buried him in a hug next, holding him tight. "Oh Percy, Hazel will get you out of this mess." The anger hid in her voice well, but to Percy and Piper both it was livid. "Hades had no right to accuse you like this." Percy began to argue, that there was evidence and Hades was doing his job, with a little vengeance in the cracks, but with a look at Piper, who was shaking her head, he decided to drop it. 

Hazel's voice interrupted them, speaking out from his side. "Mr Jackson, we'll be starting in five minutes." He said his thanks, before excusing himself from the crowd of family, striding over to Thalia. 

"Leo?" 

Thalia shook her head. "Emergency. Wished you luck."

Percy nodded, a small relief taking a load of his shoulders. "The less people here the better."

Electric eyes blazed up. Her voice dropped into a hush, looking over the crowd to make sure no one was listening. "Percy let me take this."

"I don't need you involved. I have this sorted." When Thalia stayed tense and glaring, Percy grabbed her lightly by the shoulders. "I, have, this, sorted. Don't worry."

A call went up from one of the suits, telling all to take their seats. He smiled at Thalia. 

"Go. And don't worry."

Thalia scoffed. "That didn't work when we were in kindergarten, think it will work now?"

A laugh was her only response, before Percy was joining Hazel at the front, through the fence, waiting for the arrival of a judge. 

The case was a quick one. Pleading innocent, Percy went straight for what he needed. When he offered the Polygraph, Hazel shot up in protest, but Percy didn't let up. In the end, the judge agreed. Assigned him an ankle monitor for two days until the polygraph. 

"Percy, what are you doing?" Thalia followed hurriedly after him as he was escorted. 

"I'm innocent, best way to show them is where I can't lie." 

Piper joined Thalia as Sally caught up to them. 

 

"Is your name Percy Jackson?" Percy looked up smugly, smirking at Hades. 

"You don't know my name, Captain?" Hades seemed to growl in his direction, but Nico jumped in quickly with a glare his way. 

"It's for the the machine, Jackson Just answer the question." 

"Do you have to be here, Nico?" The Captain kept his eyes on Percy's, but his words were meant for his son. 

"A detective is meant to be attending during the Polygraph. I have more reason to be here than you do, Captain." 

Hazel shuffled in her seat next to Percy's, drawing their attention to herself with a sudden cough. "Gentlemen, please. Lets get this thing over with. I'm sure my client would enjoy a peaceful time at home without being accused of murder, robbery, assault and trespassing."

"Fine. Once again. Is your name Percy Jackson?"

"Yes."

"Is your hair green?"

"No." 

Hades opened a folder on the desk in front of him, but Percy really doubted he needed it. By the huff Nico let out, he thought the same. His father looked on smugly as Percy waited for the next question. 

"Are you the vigilante of Atlantis?" 

Percy took only a second, but his mind fought to keep his heart calm, beat relaxed. This wasn't the first time he was under a lie detector. And he would not knock off his title of 'Successful liar,' just yet. 

"No."

"Did you kill the three men who kidnapped you a few weeks ago?" 

"No." 

There was a pause. Hades looked over to the man at the Polygraph, who gave him a slight nod, a pass to continue. 

"Were you shipwrecked on an island called Tartarus for five years?" 

Percy tensed, fighting off the horrible memories tied to that place, trying to blink away the images of blood, and death and pain. Nico and Hazel protested at once, Nico's loud and angry, while Hazel reasoned using his rights.

"How exactly is that relevant?" 

"You don't have the right to ask that!"

Hades hushed them both with only a tap at the table, eyes never leaving Percy. "It is relevant, because what ever happened there turned your client into a criminal."

"Mr Jackson, your body was said to be largely covered with scar tissue. You said that your time there was spent alone." 

"I wasn't alone." 

"Why would you lie?"

An abrupt answer made its way from his mouth. "Because the people on that island with me tortured me." If only they knew everything else they did on top of that. Made him love them, made him trust them. Only to loose them all to the brutality of that place. That hell. 

Percy clearly heard Nico's sharp intake of breath, but he didn't turn from Hades, who despite Percy's admittance, stayed blank faced and glaring. 

"One last question Mr Jackson." The machine scribbled away. "Have you killed anyone?"

Faces flashed before his eyes. His father, the pilot, Luke, Clarisse. Hundreds of others. Percy took in a harsh, deep breath.

"Yes." Hades sat back smugly, a small twist from laughing out loud. "When I took Bianca on that plane with me." His face dropped immediately into a confusion, then a burning anger. 

"I killed your daughter."


	9. Dinner Plans, Bullets? and Stalker Frank

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TORTURE IN THE FLASHBACK  
> AND BAD DREAMS.  
> BE WARNED!!!

Forest grew around him, high trees, hot air sticking his ripped shirt to the clammy skin of his back. Percy shot up as soon as he recognised the scenery, a panic rising in his chest, throat closing in as he croaked, "No, no." 

Tartarus nights were just as dark and cold as he'd remembered them to be. A whistle of air had him throw his head to the side to discover nothing there, while a rustle in the bushes dropped from the other. This time when he turned his head the way of the noise, a figure stood there. Her hands were outstretched, dripping blood to the grass below. The red bandanna on her arm couldn't be distinguished from her skin, hair matted with the dark blood as well as running freely down her cheek, sloping off her chin into the cut and bleeding torso that Percy could see through the shreds of the shirts. 

Rough hands grabbed him from behind as he tried to look away, close his eyes and forget, tell himself it wasn't real. They forced his chin up, squeezing hard at his cheeks, pulling and shoving at his head. "Look, you murderer," Luke's voice hissed into his ear, ripping at his hair, "look at what you did,"

 

Percy shot up from bed with a gasp of horror stuck in his throat. The lamp at his desk was on, bright and illuminating his room, in his house, with his family just a few doors down. The image of Clarisse burned his mind still, and his legs kicked away at the sheets wrapped around them until they were free, cold air from the open windows running over his hot skin. 

It was an old routine of his, nightmares. He knew there would be no way sleep would find him now, not with how quickly and strongly his heart was pounding against his chest, or how his fingers could seem to stop twitching, even when he wrapped them into a fist. Instead, with a deep breath, Percy shuffled around his room to find one of his old hoodies, and slipped quietly into the hallway, since it was just 4 am, and neither his mother, or Piper or Paul had nightmares about people they had a hand in killing. He hoped at least, because if so, then he really didn't know his family. 

To his surprise though, the T.V was on, volume under ten, displaying some film, with a pale dude and pale girl, and too much staring. Piper was sat on the couch in front of it, frowning at the blazing screen. Percy smiled slightly as she complained about something under her breath, then dug a hand into the bowl of popcorn and munched on it with eyes glaring at the film. 

She jumped high when he slipped under the blanket next to her, almost throwing all the popcorn all over herself in the process. 

"Jesus, Perce. Are you a ninja or something?"

'Trained by a few, including ex-assassins and CIA agents,' he thought, be smiled instead, stealing a handful of popcorn and stuffing it in his mouth, chewing loudly and open-mouthed just to watch Piper grimace and gag. 

"You're gross. Also up early, or late, however you want to look at it."

Taking another mouthful of popcorn, Percy's eyes found the screen, where a semi-naked man showed up, then turned into a wolf. "Couldn't sleep," A man and wolf glared at one another. Percy frowned. "What the hell is this?" 

"Twilight."

"Well it looks crap. "

"Its not bad." 

"I'll take your word for it."

They sat in silence for a while after that, watching the love triangle on screen play out, with Percy asking about the plot every once in a while.

"You can talk to me, you know?"

Percy swerved round, taking a long look at his sister before nodding slowly. "Of course I do Piper." A huff left him, and his hands fell helplessly into his lap. "But it's not that easy. What happened in that place," He trailed off quietly, and Piper noticed the unfocused look in his eyes as his words faded. She reached forward and patted her brother on the shoulder, which snapped his attention back to her. 

"Well it might actually make it easier, talking to someone about it. If that's not me, fine, but find someone. Maybe it will help you with the nightmares." Piper wasn't looking at him anymore when he turned to look at her again with confusion creasing the skin around his eyes. 

"How did you-"

Piper munched on the popcorn in her mouth, scoffing at the TV screen, glancing briefly at her brother. 

"You stink of sweat, and you used to be a heavy sleeper. Never up before noon unless you had to. I'm not stupid, and you're my brother. I read you like an open book."

'I've talked to Thalia,' he thought we a frown, but then again he hadn't gotten far enough to tell her the worst parts.

They settled into a comfortable silence after that, with the popcorn between them and the sparkling vampires and their angsty romances playing out on the TV screen. 

Sally and Paul found them on the couch the next morning, asleep in a mess of remaining popcorn and blankets, another Twilight movie playing there.

 

FIVE YEARS AGO. 

 

His throat felt raw, scraped from all sound from the screams that had torn through him in what felt like an eternity. The General stood to the side, the long knife wrapped snugly into a red cloth, with splodges of its original colour peaking through the layers of Percy's blood that stained it now. His shirt was tatters, his chest sliced into with red thick lines that cried red. The bullet wounds, that had been so close to healing so well, spewed flesh and blood from the amount of times the General had stuck his knife deep into the wounds, Clarisse's lanky stitching ripped and torn roughly out.

"I will give it to you, Mr Jackson; you are a tough man to crack."

Percy pushed his back into the wooden post, a weak and failed attempt to get away from what he'd endured that he knew was going to happen again. The General's eyes showed a certain enjoyment that scared him, but the rugged man's mouth never changed from the thin frowning line it was.

He got closer, and Percy struggled once again against the ties at his wrists, which he could barely feel as they were scraped raw by the constant tugging and pulling. His breath was sharp, stinging the cuts littered along his face. 

"And all this for two people you don't even know the full story of."

The General raised the knife in a stiff arm, fingers tight around the handle. His army uniform was covered with specks of his blood, Percy noticed as he sub-consciously braced himself for the contact the sharp blade would make any second, and the agony that would follow and stay, sinking into his muscles, his nerves, his mind, his bones. 

It embedded itself deep into his left arm, nicking bone. Percy screamed, feeling blood drip quickly with drops of sweat as he cried, begging for it to stop. 

"Oh it can stop, Mr Jackson. When you tell me where I can find Castellan and La Rue." 

When Percy said nothing, except let loose strong whimpers and half-hearted sobs of agony, the General nodded, an excitement building in his eyes. 

When he twisted the knife, the pain became too much, and Percy's eyes dropped half way through a scream, shrouding him in a sense of darkness and floating. He felt nothing. 

 

"Duck." 

Percy swung the stick up in an arc, cutting the air from where Thalia just swerved, then arched his back as she struck his way, knocking the stick away with a backwards kick. It distracted her enough that Percy had the opening to her torso, kicking her hard with the flat of his foot, sending her to the mat in a spiral of painful hisses and winded gasps. 

"Twenty seven."

Thalia groaned from the floor, punching at the hand Percy offered to help her up. "You don't have to count you know." Percy laughed deeply, but barely gave Thalia the time to catch her breath before his stick was zooming her way again. This time, she anticipated the move, raising her own fast enough to block the hit, jerking it forward with a powerful tug which had both sticks flying across the room. "But if I didn't, you wouldn't know how many times that floor has asked, and received a hug from you." Thalia breathed out a laugh, but yelped soon after as she caught Percy's kick into her hands, earning a solid punch to chest, Percy's arms swerving around and sliding over her neck, dropping her into a chock hold. 

"Dead." Percy stated stoically, letting Thalia go and leaving her to fall to the mat in an exaggerated exhaustion, and grabbing one of the towels hanging from the metal rail of the basement stairs, wiping at his brow as he threw Thalia hers. It fell over her face, and she mumbled a curse halfheartedly at him as she pulled it over her head, wiping at her sweaty face. 

"Who the hell trained you, Perce? I can't hear you coming even when you're a foot away from me, you don't seem to breath, those muscles," Her eyebrows rose jokingly, eyes staring at his arms. Percy laughed again, this time tossing his own towel at her, which also struck her hard in the face. As he walked up to one of the computers along the metal desks, he heard Thalia's gag and the disgusted sound she made threw off the smelly thing. 

"Many people with a lot of skill, Pine cone face."

Thalia grumbled at him, barely moving from her sunken position on the mats. "I don't understand why you still call me that. I fell out of that tree and broke my leg! I could have died!"

"Yes but you didn't, and you got a mouthful of pine cone our way down, after falling because a squirrel scared you! Now move yourself. We have another name."

Thalia perked up at that, wobbling over to his side and leaning down to stare enthusiastically at the screen, where a bunch of newspaper articles sat strewn over the screen. All of them had one thing in common. A lot of bodies left in their wake. 

"We really need an update here."

Percy ignored Thalia's remark on his technology, instead sliding a thin folder her way along the metal tables. "Police seem to think that it's some sort of small party working against the government."

Fingers flipped open the folder, a questioning look etched over Thalia's sweating face. "Against the government?"

"Yup, the Mayor was attacked last night at an event, he's fine but ten others are dead."

The name Ethan Nakamura was written large at the top of the page. A picture shot out next to it, of a man of twenty-seven according to the data there, with greased black hair and an eye swimming in brown while the left was covered by a strip of cotton. He was thin, sly looking, glaring down the camera that was tasked with taking his mug shot. 

"I'm surprised the lens didn't crack."

Despite the seriousness of the situation, Percy couldn't hold back the grin that pulled at his mouth.

"Ex-military, specialised in long distance shooting, snipping." 

Closing the folder, Thalia looked up to Percy hesitantly. "Is he on Po's list?"

"Of course."

"You have an address?" His curious eyes found hers, and she saw the excitement there, worry rising in her chest at that look. She didn't say anything, only watched him nod.

"Of course."

"Then it seems like we have a job to do."

 

They visited the residence of one Ethan Nakamura that night, faces hidden and weapons steady on their backs, although Thalia still felt uneasy with the sword pressed into her palm, despite the training Percy had put her through over the past few weeks. Thalia couldn't deny how free it felt, how good. To be doing something good for the people, even if they were breaking the law which was also a little thrilling even if she didn't want to admit it. Another thing she didn't want to admit was how at ease and right Percy looked in that Bandanna, swords at his back. 

Nakamura lived under a poor apartment block, although Percy had commented how this was probably only his hideout for his time in Atlantis. 

When they swung through the door, Thalia was sure Nakamura had been aware they were coming. 

Gun shots rang out their way as soon as they crossed the archway, Percy giving a shout of alarm as he shoved Thalia to the ground, behind the ripped mattress that served as a bed. With a hand at the handle of his sword, Percy rolled from out of cover and swung up, cutting at the knees. Nakamura hissed through his teeth, an eye glaring down over Percy, but he didn't raise his gun again, only swiped a black case from under the window, slipped his legs over the sill and was gone before Thalia had a chance to raise her own blade. 

Searching the house didn't do much, because it was mostly empty, of personal items anyway. Percy found her outside in the hallway over looking the walls, nudging his head to the entrance as a signal to leave. 

It wasn't until they got back to the ware house that Thalia noticed something in his gloved hands. 

"Is that-"

It was a laptop. Grey and blank, huge and thick, but a laptop all the same. No longer working, though, as deducted by three large bullet holes in the top casing. 

"A non-working laptop that may hold the information that we need to take down Nakamura, yes."

A ringing interrupted the bitter looks on both of their faces. Percy pulled the cell from the desk next to him, swiping a finger over the screen of it before bringing the device up to his ear. 

"Mum?" 

Sally Jackson gave a happy greeting from the other end, laughing as Percy asked, "What's got you so happy, mum?" Thalia raised an eyebrow at him, but Percy just shrugged, brow furrowed as he waited for her to explain.

"Guess who's coming to Atlantis to visit us?" 

Honestly, Percy's mind went to the darkest places. Thalia could see his eyes dim, and confusion clenched at her, along with a concern as Percy's face dropped momentarily. She got closer, nudging him softly with her hand as she heard Sally repeat his name through the call. Percy shook himself from the deep parts of his mind, blinking, and sighed. "Sorry, mum, Who?"

"Tristan Mclean!"

Now Sally's excitement made sense. Tristan Mclean was Sally and Po's oldest friend. They'd been friends since high school, and Tristan helped build the idea of the Jackson family company. He was a actor, or at least had been until Po was confirmed dead, which was where he had been for the past five years, living in Spain where he was taking a break, living on the down low. At least that's what Sally had told him. He'd been back only once during the last five years years, and that was to see his best friend's empty casket buried six feet under, along side his godson as he held his goddaughter, weeping into the folds of his black suit. 

Percy eyed Thalia, who fought to hold back a smile at Percy's blank look. "Tristan? Why?"

Thalia groaned, pressing a hand to her face. When he turned to look at her with confused eyes, she frowned at him, finger poking him in the chest then back to her head, turning it in a circular motion around her temple. "Are you crazy?"

Sally laughed again on the other end. "Percy, we all thought you were dead for five years, now you're not. Your godfather wants to see you."

Thalia slapped her self in the face again, but Percy shoved her hard with one hand, enough for her to yelp and topple to the floor with a weak thud and a cry of surprise. "That's great mum, when?" Twenty eight, he mouthed a Thalia, grinning, as she stuck her middle finger up at him from the floor.

"I'm preparing dinner for seven tonight, he should be here for around six. Bring Thalia and invite Leo, if you like. It would be nice to have them here too."

"Sure thing, Thalia will definitely come," The girl in question grunted in response as she climbed up from the floor, rubbing her shoulder, "And I'll get in contact with Leo now." His fingers found the bullets on the case of the laptop in front of him, tapping at the burnt plastic. "I have to get a few things done, then I'll be home."

"Okay, Percy. Don't be too long."

As soon as he hung up, a shift from behind him alerted him to a danger, and Percy turned suddenly, catching Thalia's oncoming leg, twisting it to the left and knocking her off balance. She tumbled down ungracefully, let off a colourful line of curses as she knocked into the ground hard. "Twenty nine," A smug smile covered Percy's face as he grabbed the laptop and wondered over to the computers, switching on one of the monitors. 

"How the hell do you do that!" Thalia wondered up behind him, hands up and waving, eyes questioning. Percy laughed. 

"A lot of training. Now, we need a way to get the files off this laptop, so we know Nakamura's next target, then-"

"We can stop him, yeah." Percy looked to Thalia, amused. She just shrugged. "What? You are really predictable in your dramatic speeches and shit."

"They only question is-"

"Who can we trust not to go running." 

"Would you stop that. It's creepy."

"I told you, you're-"

"Predictable, yeah I know."

They watched each other with amused eyes, Thalia pulling in her lips as she tried to fight a laugh. Percy smiled. Suddenly, a realisation dropped onto Thalia's face, and Percy could practically see the gears twisting and turning in her brain. She looked at him, with a look that Percy remembered from high school, when she'd figured out how to get the test answers for their maths quiz. "What?"

"Didn't Piper say that Annabeth worked at IT in the company?"

 

Percy saw Frank through the window of Thalia's car, leaning over the hood of his own car, parked outside the company entrance. 

"Mr Jackson." Frank greeted with a smug grin, nodding his head towards Thalia. "Miss Grace." Thalia reached over and shook his hand, and despite the fact that he was constantly in their way, the smug look in his eyes made her laugh. Frank was a good guy. 

"How's your wife, Frank?" Asked, to which Frank just laughed.

"Still angry that Mr Jackson", pointed look, "didn't listen to her in the court room last week." When Percy laughed, Frank stood from the hood of his car, standing which his hands tight behind his back. "You're mother said you would be home for dinner this afternoon after dealing with things. I took a wild guess you would head here. Lucky."

"Well I guess it is your job, Mr Zhang. But I'm only hear to talk to a friend." Sub-consciously, he pulled the strap of the laptop bag further up his shoulder. Thalia understood his discomfort. If Frank knew-

But the body guard stared Percy down, smiling still. "Then I will go with you."

The elevator ride up to the IT floor was one of the most awkward elevator rides of Percy's life, and the music wasn't helping. Frank tapped his fingers over his thigh to the beat, humming the words under his breath. Thalia grinned, and did the same, while Percy fought to stop himself from pressing the emergence stop button and pulling the doors open himself. 

When they finally got out, Percy felt more relief than when he fishermen saw his emergency flare from Tartarus. Annabeth wasn't far from the entrance. Her grey eyes caught them from the moment the lift beeped, shock showing on her face to see Percy Jackson look in her direction, smiling slightly when they made eye contact over the computer screen. 

"Annabeth." Percy greeted her with a soft smile, eyes bright and charming, Thalia grinning straight away at her friends obviously lighter mood, though he wouldn't admit it himself in a million years. 

The blonde grinned back at him, and Thalia nudged Frank, who rolled his eyes when she pointed to the two in front of them.

A cough from both of them had Percy remembering what they were actually here for. 

"We were wondering if you could help us with something. I've been having some issues with my laptop." Frank watched as Percy went to unzip the laptop case. 

"Hey, Frank and I will head down to get some coffee, want some Annabeth?" 

"Sure."

Frank tried to argue, that was obvious from the way he gaped like a fish as Thalia pulled him back to the elevator by the sleeve of his suit, winking at Percy over his shoulder. 

Annabeth almost choked on air when Percy settled the computer in front of her. Her nails dug gently into the holes, mouth open in shock as she felt the burnt plastic and misshaped shape of the bullet still lodged into the screen. "How did you say this happened again?"

"Coffee, on the keyboard."

Her eyes widened even further, "Coffee? Really, because these look very suspiciously like bullet holes to me!"

At her exclamation, Percy rushed closer, motioning for quiet with his hands. "Can you recover any and all data you find on there?" A beat passed. Silence between them as Annabeth chewed her bottom lip, staring at the ruined laptop screen. 

"I can try my best." 

The elevator behind them dinged again, and Thalia's voice reached them quickly, telling Frank some story about Percy and their friends and their college years, which is something no one should have to hear. 

"Thank you."

"No problem. Just come by tomorrow morning, should have it done by then." Thalia handed Annabeth the coffee just as she stuffed the computer into one of the larger draws at her desk. Frank stood over to Percy's other side, shoulders tense, but all he did was frown, staying silent. 

"I'll see you tomorrow then."

 

Luke Castellan sat, legs resting on the desk in front of him, in a dark office, cigarette pressed between pale lips, fingers running over the scar at his cheek, zigzagged and twisted, a sting still shadowing there, a memory of what happened, of what he'd done. Of what Jackson had done. 

A knock along the brittle metal of the door nudged him roughly from his thoughts, and Luke looked up to see Ethan Nakamura standing in the arch, holding his suit case that Luke knew held the sniper rifle in his right hand. His legs seemed to shake and bend at awkward angles, and from the grip that Ethan's fingers had on the door, Luke knew their plan had succeeded. 

Blood dripped in dark spots onto the concrete they stood on, from the backs of Ethan's knees, where Luke knew Robin Hood's sword had swiped into his flesh. 

Pale blue eyes found Ethan's one brown one, which glared angrily towards Luke as he stumbled to sit on the empty chair the other side of his desk. 

"He came then?" 

"Yeah, took the laptop."

Luke felt his lips pull up, into a grin he saw many times in the mirror. An insane grin, eyes alight with a sick excitement. "Good. Shot it a few times didn't you?" 

"Just like you told me to, yeah." 

Feet dropped from the desk surface, hands finding a metal case under the wood and placing it gently on the top, turning it to face Nakamura. His eye watched it eagerly, almost jumping towards it as soon as Luke pulled back his fingers, head nodding softly. 

The device inside glinted at him from the case. Ethan raised it slowly to his face, looking over it with a sense of amazement in his eye. Gentle fingers removed the cotton around his eye, and instead strung up the device, clipping it tight around the back of his head. 

The mechanical eye watched Luke as he watching him curiously. "I would say you're beyond ready now, Mr Nakamura."

Only as he turned out the door did Nakamura spin on his heal, device clicking and adjusting, zooming in and out as he focused on Luke. "How do you know he's going to be there?"

But Luke Castellan didn't respond. Nakamura left with a shrug, and Luke sat, stiff and grinning. Leaning back in his chair, he laughed, chuckling loudly to himself. "Because Percy Jackson is stupid and loyal, and he would never let innocent people die. Even if it kills him first."


	10. A Little Violence and Murder at Parties is Always Expected.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this chapter isn't as long or as good, but I haven't posted in a while and I have a lot of spare time because I'm sick so I thought I'd write something.   
> Also, it might not seem very special, but I have reached over 1000 hits on this fic, which means so much to me, so thank you to everyone who read or reads this.

The Jackson residence was warm with conversation. Tristan McLean laughed deeply as Percy spoke about something, Piper butting in once in a while to comment, while Thalia and Sally Jackson watched mesmerised as Leo loaded mountains of food onto his plate, all the while speaking of some new smart phone addition he was doing in his free time, between his tight work schedule. 

When Sally had opened the door, Percy was knocked off his feet by his grinning godfather, breath squeezed from his by Tristan's arms hard around him. There were tears in his eyes as he pulled back and stared over Percy's face, commenting on the tan and joking over the older look in his eye, as Percy had known Tristan would. Piper was no exception to the hug, and motioned for help over her godfather's shoulder, to which Percy held up his hands in surrender and backed away slowly, towards the dining room. 

They sat now in a bubble, it seemed. Nothing else mattered, except the comfortable atmosphere of the house, and for the first time since the island, Percy looked truly happy. No worrying about his secret identity, about Ethan Nakamura or Luke Castellan. It was just Percy and his family, enjoying dinner. The burden of those five years in hell were light on his shoulder's, his father's dying wish quiet in his ears, no longer screaming to be full-filled. Not even Paul Blofis could bother him today, not when his mother was sat at the businessman's side, clutching at his arm as she laughed loudly. The skin of his cheeks burned red under the gray stubble of beard as he bellowed along with her at something previously said. At least he made her happy. 

"At toast is necessary, I think." Tristan pulled up out of his chair, hand finding his glass of wine and raising it up over his head. Leo cheered loudly from the end of the table, which set off a burst of laughter around the room, and too raised his own wine up to meet Tristan's. When all glasses hung in the air, Tristan grinned wide and looked down once again, to smirk at Percy. "To Mr Percy Jackson, my godson, who found the strength in himself to survive the horrible claws of the island to get back to us."

With a smile, Percy turned back to the door of the room, where Frank stood guarding the entrance, eyes unfocused. "Frank?" He looked up at that, forcing a smile at the eyes of the dinner guests watching their interaction. "Join the toast?"

Percy stood up next to Tristan. "To the hope that the fight was worth it." The joke didn't have its desired effect. A tense mood dropped, but the glasses clinked together and cheery discussion continued. Tristan made Percy and Thalia laugh uncontrollably again by asking about their relationship. 

"Jesus Christ, I will pour this glass of wine over your heads if you two don't stop crackling!" Leo threatened with his glass in hand, legs lifting of the chair as he said so. Percy waved his hands as his laughter came to a stop, knocking Thalia with his elbow. 

"I don't think you can do that Leo, Frank is here to protect me." But when Percy gestured to Frank with his hand, the bodyguard slipped his sunglasses from the pocket of his suit, and slid them onto his eyes. 

"As long as you don't threaten his life." The response left another burst of laughter along the guests, except Percy, who frowned, offended. 

"Some help you are."

It came to the end of dinner when Tristan called everyone's attention again.

"There will be a Gala tomorrow night at the History Museum in town, which I will be hosting, and I would like all of you to attend." 

Leo piped up, mumbling over the rim of his glass, "All of us?" 

When the answer was yes, he cheered and danced a little in his seat. Percy grinned at his friend. 

"I'm not sure I'll be able to make it, but thank you." 

Percy's answer brought the tension back over the dinner table. Leo stopped his dancing, and set his glass down on the table before shuffling back the chair and getting up. "Percy, let me show you something dude." He didn't really leave space to argue, so with a pat at Thalia's arm he pushed himself from the table and ran after Leo's retreating figure. 

They ended up in the back yard, acres of green spreading backwards. Leo stopped between two tall oaks, before large slabs of stone. Percy caught up just as his friend stopped, grinning and out of breath. "What did you-" the sentence choked him as soon as he noticed the names etched deep and clear into the hard stone. 

Perseus Jackson and Poseidon Jackson. He was staring at his own grave stone, and his father's beside it. 

"There were no bodies. Casket was empty. It made it even harder to say goodbye." Leo didn't look at him for a long time, not until a long silence passed, and he rubbed his hands together to get out the stings of cold. "I can't imagine what happened to you on that island, it must have been horrible. But it hasn't exactly been dandy and great for us either, Percy. We had to say goodbye to our best friend, son, brother. We thought you were dead for five long years. Years where I saw Thalia drop lower than she ever has, where Piper grew up without her brother or father, which lead to things I don't even want to explain to you. You're mother hasn't been able to spend longer than a few hours in that house, spending most of it at work, yet you blame her for moving on, when clutching onto the memory of your father was destroying her. The least you can do is acknowledge that, because moving yourself from you're family and friends when they thought you were dead for five years, when they thought they wouldn't see you ever again, that you were gone and never to return, will only destroy them further."

Percy stared at Leo, blinking dumbly at him as he looked into his friend's brown eyes, which had dropped the light of joking and happiness and filled instead with a bitterness, a sadness. And in that moment Percy understood, that despite the fact that his suffering hadn't ended upon his return, neither had theirs, because he was still gone. Still vacant and away. The difference is that he can stop his family's pain.

"I'm sorry." 

Leo smiled lightly. "I know." Nothing else had to be said. Percy clapped Leo steadily on the shoulder, and they waited a moment, just staring ahead into the evening sky as their breaths left marks in the clear air. 

They went back together, and as soon as they walked through the door Percy made sure that Tristan knew he'd bee at the Gala, and with everyone at the dinner table no doubt. Thalia questioned him with her eyes as he sat down, but Percy only shook his head and smiled slightly, raising his wine glass to Leo across the table. 

 

Annabeth called from the company the next morning. Frank followed Percy everywhere now, and although he was still in the way of their work, but Percy found himself not minding. Frank was a strange guy, but funny, and they spent a lot of the way to the company discussing his wife Hazel. From the way he talked about her, it was clear that he loved her a lot. 

The laptop was set out on the desk when they walked in, but Thalia managed to convince Frank once again to get some coffee from the floor below, so they rushed off again before Frank could catch a glimpse of the bullets in the screen.

"Hello, Annabeth." The blonde jumped in her seat, dropping the tablet in her hands onto the desk with a loud bang, grey eyes dropping to glare up at him from her seat. 

"Don't you knock?"

Despite the anger in Annabeth's eyes, Percy laughed. "On what door?" His arms gestured to the open office around them, at the lack of walls and other desks surrounding hers. This seemed to wake her up, because the glare dropped and was replaced by a soft apology.

"Anyway, you called?" 

"Right." Her eyes widened, and she jumped to her keyboard, typing away for a few seconds of silence and then pulled a chair up from the desk to the left, patting it as a request for Percy to sit. "For one, this laptop isn't yours, Mr Jackson."

"Percy. And I know. It belongs to my friend, Ethan Nakamura."

Percy hid the surprise from his face when Annabeth shook her head again, eyes curiously watching him as he leaned forward to glance at the computer screen. "Nope, says here that it belongs to a certain Luke Castellan."

The name made Percy's blood freeze in its veins, yet boil only a second later, leaving him to fight to hide the anger building to tighten his chest. He swallowed his nerves as subtly as possible, raising an eyebrow at the blonde beside him.

"An it contains?" 

Annabeth barely turned to look, keeping her eyes on Percy's face instead. "Only blueprints, of the History Museum. There's a Gala there tomorrow night." 

His response was distracted, a sense of dread dropping into his stomach at the impossible coincidence of the locations, but he managed a small smile. "Yes, I'm expected to attend. Come if you have time." Annabeth looked like she was about to choke on air, eyes wide and mouth wide open, unblinking in her stare. 

"You're kidding, right?"

"No, I'm quite serious. I will email you the invitation on you're work email tonight." 

"Thank you, so much Mr Jackson." 

"Percy." 

"Right."

The lift beeped, and chatter filed through, and Thalia and Frank rounded the corner holding four cups of coffee just as Percy slipped the laptop into the case he'd brought. 

"Thank you for you're help Annabeth. We will see you tomorrow night."

Thalia elbowed him hard as they got into the lift. "See you tomorrow night, huh?"

"Yeah," Percy shrugged, biting away at the building smile, trying to stay unaffected by the teasing tone in Thalia's question, or Frank's grin over his shoulder. "I invited her to the Gala."

"Of course you did."

 

"We're still going to the gala?" Thalia looked almost angry as she rounded him with her hands securely protecting her face. That didn't help her when Percy swung and knocked a foot into the unprotected space of her left hip, tripping her off balance. 

"Of course. It's the best way to catch Nakamura." As suddenly as she'd fallen, Thalia was back up again, ducking a punch at her face and dropping her shoulder into Percy's stomach, which only opened her up to his knee knocking the air with a stick to her abdomen. 

"It's," Thalia paused and backed away with her hands up, taking in large gulps of air. "Obviously a trap. And you want to head on over there like you don't know." 

Percy walked to one of the computers sitting on the metal desk, clicking at it until it showed the blue prints of the Museum. "This is our only chance to get Nakamura. And we're taking it." He looked at her closely for a second, blankly. Then, his shoulders lifted and fell in a shrug. "Or you can sit this one out." 

The angry look returned to her face, twisting the peaceful expression into a frown. "How can you even say that? You know I'm with you on this." 

He lifted his arms up into a surrender. "Of course."

 

Percy Jackson tried hard to keep his eyes from wandering. He knew that if Nakamura was watching, he'd see his suspicious behavior from a mile away, so instead he lead Thalia through the crowd towards Tristan, Frank following in is dark suit and shaded glasses propped on his nose. His godfather laughed warmly when he saw them both, and pulled Percy into a long hug. 

"I sure am glad you're alive kid." It was a comment out of the blue, surprising Percy slightly, but he smiled back all the same, patting his godfather on the back with a laugh of his own. 

"I am too, Tristan."

McLean pressed a kiss to Thalia's hand in greeting. "It's a beautiful place you have here, Mr McLean." 

"Yes well, money does have its perks. I always liked history, so why not fund one of the greatest museums in the city." He reached over towards Frank and shook the bodyguards strong grip. 

Thalia smiled then, at something over Percy's shoulder, and poked her friend hard in the side. Before he had the time to complain, Thalia pushed his shoulder, spinning him around to face the entrance of the Gala. Piper stood there, with his mother and Paul behind her calling for some drinks. And it hit Percy then, how much his sister had grown. And he smiled, because she looked amazing, and she looked happy, which had always been the only thing Percy had wanted for her. 

Annabeth Chase stood at his sister's side, both of them laughing, and Percy suddenly understood why Thalia had nudged him so hard. He excused himself from Tristan McLean, leaving the actor with Thalia and Frank, who seemed oddly entertained by a story Tristan was telling about a film set, slipping through the crowd once again back to the entrance where Annabeth and his sister were still stood. There was a tight feeling in his chest when he looked at the blonde IT expert, but it was something Percy hadn't felt in a long time. So long ago that he could no longer recognise it. 

"Hey Piper!" He tackled her into a hug, which must have looked strange since he was a good head taller than her, but she laughed into his shoulder. 

"Put me down! We're the children of Sally and Po Jackson!" As soon as he let her go, she smoothed the crinkles in her black dress, but the smile never disappeared. "We have appearances to keep up"

Percy grinned, and the shocked look on his sister's face only reminded him of how little he did that lately. Smiled. "Thinking about appearances, finally. Now that is something that will take some time getting used to." He saw the punch coming, but he laughed as Piper hit him in the arm. "That lasted long." He ducked out of the next hit coming for his shoulder, looking to Annabeth, who'd been grinning at the siblings. 

"Nice of you to attend." He wasn't quite sure what to do, hug or hand shake? He considered for a second, before holding out his hand to the blonde, who, a little confused, shook it with a grin none the less. Neither of them saw Piper and Thalia make eye contact and resist a face palm at Percy's oblivious mind. There was no saving him. 

"Wouldn't have been able to with out the invitation, so thank you for that."

"I'm sure that Piper would have taken you with her." 

Piper slapped her brother in the arm again, and stared at him for a second as he turned to her in surprise. "For once, accept the thanks."

A sheepish look crossed Percy's face. "Right. You're welcome."

He looked to Piper again with a questioning look. "Leo?"

Piper smiled wide. "Promised to prepare you a song that he'll preform after dinner."

There was a shift in the air, that Percy felt. And suddenly he felt stupid, for thinking that this happy moment would last for long. "Everyone get down!" He barely got a look Thalia's way, wide eyed and alert, before he was grabbing both Annabeth and Piper and pushing them to the floor. He covered them with his own body, back exposed, when not even a second later bullets started to fly. 

The air tasted of burning and blood. A scream went up over at the other side of the hall, a shout and whimper on the other, and when Percy lifted his head, he saw stains of red and clouds of pain. 

"Piper? Annabeth?"

He lifted away from them, patting at his sister's shoulders and looking across them both, trying to spot even a speck of red on them. There was none. "We're fine Percy."

"Good." He nodded, still blinking and shaking his head to get the ringing out of his ears. "Get everyone out of here, or as many as possible."

He didn't give them a second to argue, before he was turning away and searching for Thalia. 

She was huddled at the side of a table, white cloth ripped and cluttered with smashed glass. A part of which was impaled through Thalia's left hand. She was sat there, shaking and sobbing as her right came up to nudge the glass through her palm, only to shoot away with a cry of agony. Percy rushed to her side, pulling off one of the table clothes and shaking off the glass, before kneeling at his friend's side. "You're okay." Thalia laughed when she heard that, coughing when the gun powder sunk into her throat. 

"I know, you idiot. It just hurts."

Percy smiled. "I'm not going to pull it out, might cause you to bleed out, but I'll wrap it up and call and ambulance. They'll take care of it." 

"Okay Doctor Jackson," Thalia laughed again, but wincing soon after when her fingers moved out of instinct, pain stabbing through her hand. "He shot from the second floor, ran up. Go get him, I'll be fine." 

Percy patted Thalia on the shoulder, called Frank over. "Get her out of here." Then he was off, running to the stairs where Thalia had directed him. He made sure to grab his bandanna from the side vent on the way up and the swords from their sheaths from behind a passing radiator. 

He made it to the top floor before he found Nakamura. The unfinished floor of the building that Tristan had told him he was renewing.

Nakamura had his gun out as soon as Percy kicked the door open, knocking the rusted metal back on its hinges with his sword pressed into his gloved palm. His eyes widened slightly as Ethan smirked, and the twitching finger over the warm metal of his gun pressed down on the trigger sharply, littering the air with bullets and a cacophony of noise. Percy ducked from the doorway, diving down and knocking his back against the safety of a concrete pillar as the bullets chipped away at the wall, sending bits flying and dusting through the air, seeming never ending. 

When they stopped, the silence was almost out of place, uncomfortable and heavy as Percy waited for any sound. Ethan tutted through clenched teeth, clicking the empty magazine from the gun, and shifting a new one from his belt. His eye hissed and zoomed, adjusting and searching, Percy could hear the pieces turning and looking. A laugh sounded coldly from the back of Nakamura's throat. 

"You know, Jackson. Castellan told me that you'd come here. I didn't think you'd be so stupid as to fall for a trap." He took a few steps forward, towards the pillar. A few more bullets littered the air, shattering the glass of the door in front of them, cutting through the wooden beams that held up building concrete. It began to crumble before Nakamura stopped again, and felt the device on his eye with a smile. 

"I'm being paid well for this-"

Percy swerved around the the edge of the concrete, dropping his blade and sawing at Ethan's legs. He fell with a hiss, but his gun pointed up from the floor, barrel staring Percy in the eye. "Watch it, buddy." But Ethan hadn't anticipated the long knife Percy held up the sleeve of his dark shirt, nor had he anticipated it striking him hard in his gun arm, going in one end and coming out the other soaked with red, dripping blood. Ethan screamed in agony, gun slipping from his fingers as they trembled and twitched, nerves fried and cut. 

"I wouldn't trust some one like Luke Castellan, Nakamura. There are some things he may have forgotten to tell you." With a swift jerk of the handle, Percy pulled the blade from Nakamura's arm, ignoring the gurgle of pain he let out from the back of his throat. "And that's that I never forgive those who try to hurt my family." With a graceful swipe, a short dagger was pulled out of his belt and struck down, cutting through air and finally hitting Nakamura, crashing through the glass of his eye device, through the electronics, and ruined skin underneath to the brain. 

Nakamura stilled. His strained neck relaxed, head falling back to the cold floor. Percy let go of the dagger's warm hilt, stumbling back onto his feet with a sigh. 

The silence around him didn't last long. A grunt echoed from the door behind him, through the glass that the bullets had destroyed. Percy jumped over the fallen wooden beam and knocked the door aside, rounding around the arch to see Frank slumped heavily against the white walls of the corridor, now streaked red with his blood as he slid slowly to the floor. He had a hand pressed to the side of his stomach, where streams of blood flushed past his clenched fingers, staining his white shirt. 

Percy felt his heart stop in shock and fear for what felt like the hundredth time that day. He rushed forward quickly, pressing a gloved hand over Frank's own, barely thinking, only acting. He slipped Frank's arm over his shoulder quickly, and stumbled with his weight from the top floor of the building, back to where he knew they'd be safe.


	11. A problem, with a problem, with a side of more problems.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Percy helps Frank, but will Frank be happy with what he finds?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a filler chapter I guess? I wanted to write something cause exams are stressful. So here!

"Frank, stay with me!" With his bodyguards limp arm over his shoulders, Percy dragged an unconscious Frank down the creaking stairs to the splinting bed by the factory wall, laying his bleeding body down on the ragged mattress. 

The only response that he got from Frank was an indistinguishable groan. 

Percy ripped the bandanna off from around his eyes and tossed it to the factory floor, rushing over to one of the metal draws besides his computers, tossing through the things in it to find a roll of bandage and a needle, as well as a ball of thread. His hands were covered in Frank's blood. 

The body guard was trying to sit up when Percy ran back over to his side, skidding to a stop on his knees by the bed ans pushing Frank's massive body back down to the mattress with one hand and threading the needle with the other and his teeth. 

But Frank wouldn't stop fidgeting. Percy rose up and pressed his forearm down to Frank's neck, the veins under his skin rising as Frank strained against him. "Frank-" the body guard's wild eyes shot to him, and Percy felt a white hot panic set through him as he found a similar look in them. 

"Poison." 

He let go of Frank, diving across the basement of his father's factory, and reached down under one of the computer desks. The duffel bag came flying, spilling most of it's content. Percy grabbed the metal mug he saw, and the bag of herbs laying next to it, as well as the water bottle that sat on the metal surface of one of the desks. 

As he ran back to Frank, still trashing, if not wilder, he rubbed and ripped the herb between his fingers, reaching Frank just as he managed to fit the herb in the cup and mix it with the bottled water. With his fingers at his neck again, Percy tipped the cup back into Frank's mouth. 

The body guard shook again, once, twice. Then he went still. Limp, Percy let Frank's body settle against the bunk. Releasing a calm breath of relief, he moved around and picked up the needle he'd settled at Frank's side. Making sure his hands were steady, clenching them once, Percy pulled back the white dress shirt Frank had been wearing and sunk the needle into the skin around the bleeding wound. 

 

Thalia watched the museum and its sea of injured, rushing from the broken front doors. She took a second, her good hand wrapped protectively around the injured one even after it'd been cared for, to stare at the destruction. At the bodies she could still see through the shattered glass. 

A body slammed into her, knocking her back into the back of the ambulance she'd been sat in. She felt wet splodges on her shirt immediately, a sob muffled in her dirty shirt. Piper pulled back, eyes wet with tears. 

"I'm so glad you're okay." 

"Are you?" Thalia questioned, hands moving Piper away so she could look the younger girl over for injury, blood, anything. Piper shrugged her off and hugged her hard again. 

"I'm fine. Where's Percy?"

Thalia hesitated a second, her mind working up a lie. "He was getting some of the other's out. I saw him a second ago driving with Frank to the hospital."

It was a wild guess. She had no idea what had happened with Percy, or his bodyguard, who she'd seen had followed the damned vigilante up the stairs after Nakamura. 

A pause. "What about Annabeth?" 

Piper opened her mouth to answer, but the blonde appeared then, dishevelled but very much alive and uninjured. Her dress was ripped, and her hair was filled with debris, but she smiled widely when she saw Thalia. 

"Oh thank god." she yelled, laughing. She looked around for a quick second, noticing the missing green eyed man. "And Percy?"

Piper followed through with Thalia's made up excuse, leaving both girls relieved. Thalia found herself watching the empty building with growing dread in her heart. "We should find Triton, and Sally. Make sure they're fine." Thalia suggested, hiding the lingering looks she left the building. 

Triton was accompanied by two familiar detectives, and a mass of flashing lights, which where being held back, barely, but a few frowning police officers. Nico turned as soon as Triton's face light up at the sight of the three girls, and smiled at them, eyes finding Thalia's. Thalia almost stopped in shock at the sight of the smiling pulling at his lips. She shook it off quickly, nodding as a way to convey she was fine. 

"Percy?" The detective asked, with concern shining in his eyes.

"He's fine," Thalia answered, but Nico was the only one that she didn't manage to convince. Maybe he could just read her too well. Her eyes showed too much. The concern didn't leave his face. And it didn't leave hers, as she looked back to the building one last time. 

"Where the hell is my husband?" The crowd of reporters parted to show a familiar face, curled hair and crumpled bushiness suit. Piper and Thalia recognised her immediately, and Nico pushed through the officers to let Hazel Levesque in. Thalia fed her the same lie, hoping it was true. 

 

Frank woke up minutes later, turning and groaning, face pressed over the side of the bed and face shining with sweat. Percy didn't move, green eyes watching his body guard blink and shift slowly to sit up. 

"That's not a very good idea, Zhang." Percy told him, unnecessarily, as a second later he was on his back with a hand to his side, groaning in pain. 

"You were shot."

"I figured." And with Percy's face hovering over him, the black outfit and swords still in their holsters at his back, Frank seemed to make a connection. His head shot up in a vicious try to knock Percy with his own forehead, but Percy saw the move coming, slipping out of the way at the last minute. Frank only groaned again from the strain at his stomach.

He was sitting up immediately, shoving away from Percy as soon as he was sat, his large hands both still pressing tightly at the wrapped wound at his side. "You-" His blinked, closed his eyes, shook his head, opened them. Percy lent back on the chair he'd been sat on, arms wrapped over each other, staring stoically at his body guard. The swords were still at his back. "You're, the, the?"

"I'm sorry, Frank. I was planning on you finding out a better way. Had a speech for why you should join me and everything." The tall man, green eyes boring into Frank, stood from his chair again, laying a hand between him and Frank. 

His body guard stared at it for a second. Then a weak punch came to shove it away. Frank got up from the makeshift bed himself, with grunts of pain and struggle. He swayed weakly on his feet, shook the dizziness out of his head, and opened his eyes to shoot a harsh glare at the man he'd admired. Meant to protect. 

"You're a murderer." He sneered, "I'm not joining what ever you have here." 

And then he was gone, stumbling up the stairs and away from the abandoned factory. 

Percy sighed, running a hand over his face. 

"Shit."

 

The hospital was filled to its brim. Thalia pushed past with Hazel at her side to the front desk, Piper and Annabeth sat on one of the chairs with a paramedic at their side. The woman at the desk only managed a sharp quick smile before she was answering another question. They waited for minutes before Hazel lost her temper. 

"My husband, Frank Zhang?" She asked quickly, eyebrows up. The nurse yelled something out to the other visitors, and pushed at her keyboard with quick fingers. 

"Room 245," she yelled, and waved a hand to the left hall. 

Sure enough, there was Percy's body guard, eyes steady and nearly unresponsive as a doctor pulled what looked like crooked stitches, replacing them with fresh ones, closing a bullet hole in his side. Hazel rushed to his side, hugging him over the shoulder as to not interrupt the doctor's work. 

Thalia would have smiled if worry and guilt hadn't been gnawing at her insides. "Frank?" He turned to her lazily. "Percy?" 

A hand clapped her shoulder from behind. She spun, faced with Percy's grinning face, his suit dirty and ripped, her blood staining his sleeve. She hugged her friend, laughing in relief. 

And then she was pulling away, slapping him hard across the cheek. "Thanks, Thalia." Stupid, stupid Percy, laughed and hugged her again. 

And then Percy's voice rung in her ear. "I fucked up. Badly." 

They both pulled away again, and Percy's eyes found Frank and Hazel behind them. Frank was staring at them both, a glare muddled between the dose of morphine. Thalia's eyes widened. 

Frank knew.

 

The museum building had been abandoned for the night, police surrounding the bottom floors, not quite making it as far as the renovated floors just yet. Luke Castellan stepped over the bullet riddled door sprawled on the floor, eyes catching the blood staining the wall outside. His fingers were settled comfortably in his pockets.

He stopped over Ethan Nakamura's dead body. 

Luke tutted in disapproval, boot coming from his still position in the abandoned building to nudge Ethan's tossed body. 

"Oh Jackson." Blue eyes filled with something. A gold swirling over the colour of the sky. Something inhuman. Murderous. "You're in trouble."


End file.
